What's in a name?
by muishiki
Summary: AU Harry Potter & Ranma 12 cross over. Harry Potter and Ranma meet later in life. Both bear scars from their own battles, but who suffers more? Is it the person that has to let go, or the one who has to start over?
1. Chapter 1

Yo – I don't own any of this shitznit - so back off.

* * *

Kežmarský štít, The High Tatras Mountains, Slovakia.

The wind picked up as the sunset, carrying with it the beginnings of a blizzard. High up on the vertical cliff face of the mountain, Ranma straightened her arms to lean back and watch the day's end. She could see storm clouds approaching to unleash their fury upon the peaks. She looked up and sighed; she had about 200 meters of vertical climb left. Unless she cheated and started jumping, she wouldn't be able to complete her ascent tonight if she wanted to get back to camp before nightfall. The tree line was just visible several miles off in the distance, nearly 700 meters of vertical elevation below.

She decided to call it a night. She released her grip with her hands and let gravity pull on her body until she was nearly perpendicular to the wall. Right before her feet lost contact with the mountain she flared her ki and stuck to the rock like a fly. She had been working hard on this – accessing her life force, or ki, ever since she first began to practice the art. It allowed her to do things that no ordinary human could do, like create a bond that made her part of the stone beneath her feet. She stood there for a second, enjoying the sensations of looking straight up into the dark clouds as she hung parallel to the ground.

She slowly raised one leg until her toe pointed at the sky. With a vicious snap her roundhouse kick pivoted her a quarter turn. She used her momentum to run horizontally across the cliff face before zigzagging further down. She remained attached to the wall despite the efforts of gravity to persuade her that what she was doing was impossible.

Finally, about 30 meters from the base of the wall, she leapt out into the darkness, buffeted by winds and snow, feeling the flow of air as it swirled around her. She attempted to weave her way through the whorls to minimize turbulence as she anticipated impact. She closed her eyes and extended her senses as far as she could in order to feel the ground racing to meet her. She landed as softly as the falling snow despite the distance. Ranma ran a few paces before stopping and looking back with a grimace. She wasn't satisfied with the impact of her landing – she had left some tracks despite her best efforts not to. She'd have to work on that tomorrow.

She raced down the slope in leaping strides, picking up speed until she was running at a full sprint. The treacherous footing and distance did nothing to slow her pace; in a few minutes she reached the tree line. Without breaking stride, Ranma leapt above the trees and sprung lightly across the tops, working hard not to disturb the snow that lay heavy on the tree limbs. The snow was really falling now; ahead the trees opened up to reveal a tiny mountain pond that had frozen over. Ranma leapt one last time to land in the middle of the ice, flaring her ki as she landed. She didn't slide as she stuck to the ice; like the mountain wall, all her forward momentum was absorbed by the surface beneath her.

Her warning senses suddenly flared to life and she leapt into the air as a red streak of light flashed through where she had just been standing. It struck a tree across the pond, shattering it with an explosion that echoed through the hollow. More bolts of followed Ranma into the air. She twisted in her leap, dodging as she scanned for her attacker. At the peak of her jump she lacked the momentum to effectively dodge a red bolt that curved to tag her in the lower back. More bolts followed as she fell, coming from various locations in the trees from around the lake.

It stung like a bitch. She grimaced as she felt her back spasm and the muscles in her legs attempting to stiffen. She flared her ki down the proper pathways in her legs stopped the tensing and ended the pain, but she could tell that they wouldn't be as responsive as she had needed. The attacks continued to come, closer together now than before but from fewer locations. A few more of the red shots tagged her legs because she couldn't move them nimbly enough to dodge. Her legs began to go completely numb and the lake below was rapidly approaching as she lost altitude. Rather than attempt to land, Ranma waited till the last second and punched through the ice, plunging into the depths of the freezing water below.

The shock of the icy water almost made her gasp for breath, but she couldn't afford lungs full of water at the moment. She took a few seconds to swim out of the way of the hole she made before beginning to work on making her legs function properly. The ice above shielded her from her attacker, affording her a few precious seconds of quiet meditation to undo the paralysis in her legs. She started isolating the nerves in her legs and correcting the flow of signals by carefully stimulating the nerve endings with her ki. It didn't take long before the numbness was replaced by the feeling of bitter cold from the water.

Ranma allowed herself to sink to the bottom of the lake a couple meters below. Once to the bottom, she gathered her ki together and released a small blast towards the ice above. The blast cracked the ice just enough for her to braced her legs and shoot upward through the water, hitting the ice with enough force to break through the and land on the bank nearly thirty feet away. The attacks began immediately, coming from the trees at intervals of one or two seconds apart from across the lake.

Ranma sprinted into the trees while dodging a red blast from behind, extending her senses as much as possible. She was dripping wet and rapidly cooling, but she allowed some of her tightly controlled ki to burn away the water and dry her clothes. Unfortunately, this action also melted the snow under her feet, leaving a clear path for her attacker to follow as she took cover under the trees. She began weaving in and out of the boughs, keeping as much tree cover between her and the attacker as possible. Finally dry, she used her ki to walk on top of the snow, erasing any trace of her presence. She saw a flash of red from the corner of her eye; a tree in front of her exploded in a cloud of snow and sawdust. She smirked. Ranma used the explosion to cover a leap into a nearby tree, carefully concealing herself against the trunk.

She waited for a minute or two, still and concealed. Her intuition paid off as when she heard a small "pop" below her. She couldn't see any movement, but she could hear the crunch of boots on snow. She watched as footprints began marching carefully towards the remains of the exploded tree, showing the steps of an invisible figure. Who ever was down there was facing away from Ranma at the moment. She leapt from the tree to land silently behind the last set of footprints. As soon as she landed she launched into a foot sweep, knocking whoever was there to the ground.

The outline of a body fell into the snow, even though nothing but a pair of boots could be seen. Ranma wasted no time before leaping at the impression and grabbing… something, even though it was impossible to see. It felt like silk but was completely transparent. She pulled back with her left hand and felt the object give. The air rippled as a white man with messy black hair and glasses appeared. His face registered shock for a second right before Ranma's jab sent his glasses flying and rendered him an unconscious heap on the ground.

She took a few seconds to scan the area to make sure there was no one else around. Satisfied that the attacks had stopped, Ranma sat back on her heels as she pondered the man before her. His face was a little grizzled with beard stubble and his hair starting to turn grey around the temples, but she had a feeling he was younger than he looked. Out side of a lighting shaped scar on his forehead, his skin was smooth and attractive. His clothes, at least, gave him away as a stranger to these parts. He was wearing wool pants and winter hiking boots, a dark brown sweater, and some sort of hooded cloak that hung to his ankles and opened in the front, held by a single clasp at the neck.

She chewed on her lips for a second before reaching into the snow for his glasses. She pocketed them and stood up. The snow was falling steadily, and if she left him here he would freeze to death before too long. She sighed and reached down with one hand, picking him up by his collar and slinging unconscious man over her shoulders. Even though he was nearly six inches taller than Ranma, she barely noticed the extra weight as she leapt once again to the treetops and headed back to camp.

* * *

Harry woke up to a pounding headache and the smells pine logs and goulash. He was laying flat on some sort of hard surface, covered in a scratchy blanket that came up to his chin. He reached up to scratch his chest and stopped. Something about the scratchiness bothered him. His eyes widened as he realized he was naked. He sat up slowly, clutching the blanket around his chest while wincing as his pounding temples. He put a hand on his forehead and gritted his teeth.

"Your glasses are on the table to your left."

Harry whipped his head around and immediately wished he hadn't. Once the room stopped spinning, he glanced down and groped for his glasses, putting them on as quickly as possible. Once he could finally see clearly, he could make out a crude log cabin with a dirt floor that was barely bigger than a shack. A small fire burned in a crude stone hearth on the opposite wall, with a small iron cauldron suspended over the flames and a couple of tree stumps before it. The bed on which he sat was nothing more than a raised pallet in the far corner of the room, stuffed right against the pine logs. Besides the pallet and the small table, nothing else was in the room.

An Asian woman with blue eyes leaned casually against the wall near by. She was extremely attractive, with a petit frame and long black hair that was braided into a pigtail. Harry was surprised at how short she was, maybe 5'2 or shorter – he was only of about average height, but he doubted she would even come up to his shoulders. It was hard to guess her age – Harry figured she might be in her late 20's to early 30's. Her red silk shirt and black kung-fu pants clothes weren't provocative, but she wore them with as much assurance they might as well be an evening gown. They also didn't hide the fact that she was rather… curvy, either. Most dramatic, however, was that she stood twirling Harry's wand idly between her fingers as she watched him rise.

Harry struggled to appear unconcerned.

"Judging by the look on your face, I take it this is important?" The woman chuckled as she stuffed it into a pocket. "Don't worry, I ain't gonna break it. You will have to answer a few questions before you get it back, though."

Using her foot she pushed a tree stump from in front of the fire to the side of the bed. She sat down on it and stared.

"So, who are you?" She asked in English. Her gaze didn't waver in intensity. Harry watched as her eyes flickered briefly to the lighting shaped scar on his forehead, but she didn't act as if she recognized it.

"I'm… Harry."

"Just Harry?"

"Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter from where?"

"I'm from England."

"You're an awfully long way from home, Harry Potter from England." She leaned back a bit, but didn't take her eyes off his face. "So… why did you attacked me?"

Harry blinked. "Attack you?"

She tilted her head a bit as she contemplated him. "Back at the lake – You attacked me with something. It was red and stung like a bitch. Not sure what it was or why you did it, but I intend to find out."

"That was you?"

She nodded.

"I thought you were a… um…" Harry trailed off lamely.

"A what?"

"I thought you were something… Unnatural. These mountains are known to harbor… unsavory creatures."

She briefly struck a glamorous pose, one arm behind her head with her chest pushed forward. "Oh, so I'm unsavory?" She smirked as he blushed a bit.

"Um… No. Quite the opposite, really." Harry sighed. "I'm sorry. Would you believe it was a case of mistaken identity?" Harry almost cringed at the…placating tone his voice had taken.

She snorted and relaxed. "Lucky for you, I actually do. That sort of stuff happens to me all the time. Mind telling me what you mistook me for?"

Harry licked his lips. "I thought you might be a… um…"

"A goddess?" She teased.

"Er… well, I thought you were some sort of supernatural creature. But more like… a vampire."

Her face scrunched up in a pout and she crossed her arms. "Dang. I've been called a lot of things, but vampire's a first. People prefer 'goddess' or 'succubus,' usually." She stood up and worked her way over to the fire, standing before it with her back towards Harry.

"Um… What… I mean, who are you, anyway?" Harry pulled the blanket up. "And where are my clothes?"

"I'm Ranma. I'm a martial artist and a damn good one, too." She was silent for a second. "I hid your clothes. I didn't want you wandering around outside until we had a chance to talk. And don't worry; you ain't got nothing I haven't seen before." She turned around and watched as Harry blushed and shifted uncomfortably on the hard pallet.

"Oh." For a minute the two of them fell silent as they stared at each other. The silence stretched uncomfortably for Harry as Ranma just continued to watch him, her gaze intent upon his face. Harry broke the silence first.

"How did you do… what ever it was you did? I've seen a lot of strange things, but I've never seen anything move like you did."

"Like I said, I'm a martial artist." The tone of her voice made it evident that she believed that explained everything.

"Right..." Harry said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "I've never seen any martial artists do what you did."

"Most people aren't as good as I am." She shrugged.

"Uh… what are you doing out here? If you're so good, why are you in the Tatras?"

Ranma smirked. "I live here. You?"

"Uh... I was hunting… stuff." Harry stared back at her.

"Like vampires and other creatures sort of stuff, right?" Ranma's smirk turned into a full-blown grin.

"Yeah…"

"Why would you do that? I mean, what ever you hit me with stung, but how is that going to stop a vampire?"

"I've got lots of methods, you know."

"You a magical demon hunter or something?"

It was Harry's turn to shrug. "Or something. I'm an Auror." With one hand he gestured at the blanket. "Could I get my clothes back? This thing itches."

"What's an Auror?"

"I hunt and catch supernatural things and dark wizards."

"Been doing that long?"

"12 years or so."

"You any good?"

Harry gave a noncommittal grunt. "People seem to think so."

Ranma pulled out Harry's wand and looked at it closely. It was just a simple stick of holly, polished with use and covered in small scratches. She gave it a twirl between her fingers.

"Real magic, huh?"

Harry nodded.

"A wizard who catches evil wizards and other dark creatures… sounds… interesting."

Again, Harry nodded, a little more cautiously. "Um… Ranma? Clothes? It is a little awkward being the only one naked…" Harry flashed Ranma a nervous grin.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't get any ideas." Harry didn't see what she did, but she put away the wand was suddenly holding his clothes in one hand. She tossed them to him, and he caught the bundle awkwardly. He found his underwear and shimmied into it under the blanket, followed by his pants. He had to stand up to put his shirt and sweater, followed by his robe, and without socks the ground was bloody cold. Ranma didn't say anything as he got dressed – she continued to watch with a slight smirk on her face.

"I'm Ranma." She walked over to the bed and extended her hand.

Harry hesitantly took her hand and shook. Her grip was very rough and powerful, and her fingers and palms were thick with calluses.

"Harry. Harry Potter" They shook. "Do you have a last name, Ranma?"

"Not yet."

Harry looked at her inquisitively.

"Don't worry about it. Long story, anyway." She waved it away before continuing. "So, Harry – what you attacked me with – that was magic? What was it supposed to do?"

"Yeah– those were stun spells. They should have immobilized you. Sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize." She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "It stung a little, but I'm tougher than I look."

"I bet."

"I want to learn about it."

"'Bout what?"

"Magic, of course."

"Why?"

"Because – the only way to know how to defeat something is to study it, right? Magic is something I've been exposed to a lot, but I've never really had anyone to teach me about it."

"What makes you think I can teach you?"

"You want your stick back, right?"

"My wand – and yes, I want it back."

"Alright, I'll give it back if you agree to teach me."

"What do I get out of this?"

"You get out of here in one piece, plus help hunting down what ever… unsavory creatures might be lurking." Ranma grinned. "I'm bored here, and I won't be staying much longer. You've seen only a small fraction of what I can do. I can be very helpful, and besides… it could be fun."

"Fun?" Harry rubbed the scar on his forehead. "Hunting dark beings is not FUN. You are putting your life at risk every single day against forces that you can't comprehend or defend against effectively. You're putting others at risk as well – because if you fail, then what ever is will be unleashed upon people who can't stop it. A fist does no good against magic."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Didn't seem that way to me." Harry looked like he was about to protest. "Look, Harry. I can look after myself. You say that you do your job to protect others. That's what martial arts are about - protecting yourself, but more importantly, protecting those who can't protect themselves."

"A fist can't kill a vampire, Ranma."

"Then let's find out."

"How do you propose to do that?"

"You're here hunting vampires, right? Show me one, and let's see what I can do with it. If I can't take it out, you get your wand back and we part our merry ways. If I'm right, you try and teach me."

"Even if you can take out a vampire, I don't think I can teach you. You have to be born magic."

"Doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

Harry sighed. "No way I can get out of this, is there?"

"Well, you can always try and steal your wand from me, but I really wouldn't recommend that."

"How would you stop me?"

"Easy- I'd beat the snot out of you before you can blink. Carry to give it a go?"

"Not really, thanks."

Ranma moved to the fireplace. She picked up a wooden spoon from the rough mantle and stirred a small iron cauldron that hung suspended over the flames. "Glad we got that sorted out - Want some food?" Ranma gestured over to the caldron. "Goulash - Hungarian recipe, but it's pretty good."

Harry shook his head.

"Your loss, then…" Ranma pulled a bowl off the mantle and slopped some goulash into it. She moved a tree stump against the wall and sat down, leaning back against the walls as she began digging in. Harry was silent as she ate, watching her. There was no wasted motion – it was efficient and straightforward. Ranma paused with the spoon dangling over the bowl. "You sure? There's still plenty left…" When Harry declined, she helped her self to a second and then third portion, demolishing the rest of the stew. She grabbed the bowl and stirring spoon and pulled the cauldron off the flames before heading outside to clean the dishes.

A few minutes later she trooped back in and hung the cauldron by the fire.

"Alright… So, where do we find these vampires?"

Harry couldn't believe it. She actually looked excited about the prospect.

* * *

The walk to the graveyard took a little longer than anticipated due to the heavy blanket of snow. It was bitterly cold out, and without access to his wand, Harry didn't want to risk apparating to the site, and he didn't feel like wasting his energy trying to conjure a floating charm to walk on top of the drifts or a warming charm to take the bite off the wind. So, he trudged through, his pant legs and coat getting cold and soaked while he sweated from the exertion of walking in the deep snow.

Ranma had no such problems. She walked smoothly over the snowfall, not even leaving tracks as she waited for Harry to catch up. By the time the pair arrived, Harry was cold, winded, and grumpy. His mood didn't improve as he took in the scene. The graveyard wasn't heavily used, but there was definitely activity in the area. A fresh set of dirty footprints in the snow lead away from one of the more recent graves on the edge of the cemetery. The trail went through the side gate before disappearing into the woods. Harry scattered a handful of poppy seeds around the grave and glanced at his watch. It was 2:00 AM. He walked over to where Ranma was leaning up against the broken fence.

"So, what did you see?"

"Vampire rose out of the grave tonight. Looks very fresh – this one may only be a couple of days old, at most."

"And the seeds? What was that for?"

"Vampires tend to be obsessive compulsive. If this one comes back, he'll probably start counting each seed. Makes it much easier to fight with them if they are too busy counting to notice you."

"What next, then?"

"Well, now we wait." Harry grumbled a bit under his breath. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Ranma."

"Why? You were gonna do this anyway."

"Yeah, in the morning. During daylight."

"Does it make a difference?"

"Tracking a vampire at night in his home turf is generally considered foolhardy by most of the wizarding world. Some are mindless zombies, but most tend to be quite diabolical. Usually, people wait till sun up and take them while they are at their weakest."

"Vampires strong?"

"Even a weak vampire is three or four times as strong as a normal human."

"Oh, is that it?" She seemed nonplussed.

"Is that it? I don't fancy fighting anything three times faster and stronger than me without a wand, thank you very much."

Ranma gently patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you won't have to." She paused. "So, when it gets back…?"

"Like I said, you have to kill it, Ranma."

"Stake through the heart or cut off the head, right?" Harry nodded. "Piece of cake."

They fell silent as they walked away from the cemetery towards a hastily constructed lean-to in the shelter of the pines. Ranma was wearing a pair of loose black pants and a long sleeved black-silk shirt, but no jacket. She didn't seem to mind the cold, or even notice it. She was relaxed and alert, clearly enjoying this little outing.

Despite the fact that Ranma was holding Harry's wand, he really didn't feel threatened by her. She seemed nice enough, and was a pleasure to talk to. Whispered small talk filled the next couple of hours. Harry asked about how Ranma, who clearly wasn't local, ended up in the middle of the High Tatras.

"Long, weird story, really. You ever feel like Fate is having a laugh at your expense?"

Harry nodded. "All too often, really."

"Yeah, well, I feel like Fate likes to use me as its favorite chew toy. It started when I was about 4, you see. My dad was a bit of an idiot. He wanted to make a real ma…" A brief look of loss passed across her face before she cleared her throat and continued. "a real… martial artist of me. So, he took me from my mother and we went on a 12 year training journey, traveling the world and learning as much about martial arts as possible."

"What happened?"

Ranma sighed. "To make a long story short, I made a lot of enemies, a few friends, and a couple of fiancées. I was young and stupid, and got into more trouble than I could handle. In the end, my fiancée got killed in a fight and the few people close to me cut ties."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Not your fault. It happened long ago, anyway. Anyway, as a result, I've been traveling the world and training as hard as I could for 16 years. That's why I'm here. I was practicing some advanced ki manipulation techniques."

"Ki?"

"Ki is the central component of advanced martial arts. It's life force – pure energy, in a way. It's the thing that keeps you alive and healthy. Every living thing has it, but not every living thing can utilize it."

Ranma suddenly stiffened. "You feel that?"

"Feel what?"

She shook her head. "Feels like… like a demon, almost. Negative life force. Like… Something's ki is missing, but it is still walking around."

Harry stared at her for a minute. "Negative life force… Hmm…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let's go check to see if our vampire is home." With that, the two carefully crept back towards the graveyard. Once they arrived, a pale man wearing a dirty suit was crouched on his heels, carefully picking out poppy seeds from the snow.

Ranma whispered to Harry, "That's guy is the source of the disturbance. What ever he is, he isn't natural."

Harry nodded. "That's our vampire. Notice a couple of things about him." Harry pointed to the snow behind the man. "First, he doesn't cast a shadow."

Ranma nodded.

"Second, his cheeks aren't red from the cold – see how pale he is? Also, he isn't breathing. Plus, he's picking up all the seeds out in the middle of nowhere next to an empty grave. Dead give away, if you'll forgive the pun. He's all yours. You sure you are up to this?"

Again, Ranma nodded. She pulled Harry's wand out and handed it to him. "You seem like a good guy, and just in case... ya know." With that, she stood up and sauntered into the cemetery. Ranma sashayed into the graveyard and coyly played with her pigtail. For all her strutting, she walked silently up the man as he counted seeds and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you a Vampire?"

The man looked at her blankly for a second before growling and baring a wicked set of fangs.

Harry groaned.

The vampire lunged at Ranma, but before Harry could even see what happened, Ranma had it pinned to the ground on its stomach. She held it in place with a knee on its upper-back and one arm twisted painfully beneath it into a half nelson. She held both of its ankles in her left hand, forcing his knees to bend and pulling his hips off the ground to remove any source of leverage. The vampire's 'free' hand was pinned beneath her right foot at full extension from the body. It growled and attempted to raise itself off the ground, with no success.

Harry watched in amazement. He had never seen a vampire handled so effortlessly. Ranma didn't even seem to be straining in the slightest as she kept the monster pinned to the earth. Vampires were highly magic resistant and quite strong – he knew he could never subdue one as quickly or effectively. Ranma's question snapped him out of thoughts.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'Harry, do you have some sort of stake I can use on this fella?'"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT EARLIER!" Harry bellowed.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Harry. He's not going anywhere." Ranma twisted the vampire's arm a little further, eliciting a growl. "Do these guys feel pain?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. They know if they are hurt, but it doesn't incapacitate them at all. Why?"

There was a sickening crack as the vampire's right shoulder popped out of socket. Ranma tsked in annoyance. "This fella just broke his own arm trying to get out of my hold."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry it. Go get me a stick unless you want me to do this the hard way."

"What's the hard way?"

"Ripping his head off with my bare hands."

Harry gulped.

"One sec!" He dashed to the nearest tree and pulled out his wand. With a flick he cut off a low hanging branch about the width of a mop handle. He quickly stripped the bark and fashioned a crude stake and raced back into the cemetery, tossing it to Ranma. She caught it with her free hand and gave it a superfluous twirl before driving the stake through the vampire's back and into his heart. Flames leapt from the hole in the vampire's back and quickly reduced the body to a pile of ash.

Ranma wiped her hands. "Feels unsporting to not give them a fair chance."

"Vampires are dark creatures to the core, and will kill you in a heart beat if they can. At best, you'd die, and at worst, you'd become a vampire yourself."

Ranma shrugged. "He didn't seem like anything special."

"He was newly born. They get stronger with age. Old vampires are very difficult to kill."

Ranma nodded. "Makes sense. How old is an old vampire?"

Harry shrugged. "Not sure. The old ones are the smart ones, so they stay hidden. Anyway, thanks for the help, I guess." Harry checked his watch. It was 5:00 A.M. Harry shivered. He cast a warming charm on himself. Ranma watched with curiosity plainly evident on her face.

"What was that?"

"Just something to help warm me up. How come you aren't freezing?"

Ranma shrugged. "Temperature changes don't touch me, really."

"How come?"

"Byproduct of martial arts. It's all about using your Ki."

"You mentioned that 'ki' stuff before. What does it do?"

Ranma shrugged and stuck her hands in her pocket. She began to walk out of the graveyard, heading in the direction of home. Harry followed her after a few more quick spells that allowed him to keep up.

"Seriously, Ranma-What does this 'ki" stuff do?

"Well, it… enhances… everything, really. You could say it augments my core abilities. I can manipulate it to defend and attack, or just enhance my strength and speed, or do all those things at once."

"How do you get this 'ki' stuff?"

"You don't get it – you have it. It's internal; you just have to train it to be able to consciously use it."

Harry pursed his lips in thought. They walked on silently for a bit as he mulled over her answer. "So, this martial arts bit… It makes you impervious to the elements, faster, stronger, and tougher than a normal human, right?"

"Once you learn how to manipulate ki and you've got enough practice, yeah, it can."

"How can I get some practice manipulating this ki stuff, then?"

"It takes lots of effort and training to manipulate it."

"How long would it take for me to get as good as you?"

Ranma shook her head. "Don't know. Honestly, I doubt you ever could, Harry."

"What makes you say that?"

She shrugged. "Because, I've got such a head start on you you'll never catch up, even if you live to 300. Doesn't mean you can't try. I'll teach you if you want to learn."

"Oh… Thanks, I guess."

Neither said anything for a while. Fatigue was beginning to catch up with Harry, but Ranma still looked fresh.

"You gonna teach me some magic, then?"

It was Harry's turn to sigh. "Don't know if I can. I'll try, but it's kind of like this ki stuff, I guess." He shrugged and turned up his palms. "I don't know a lot about it, but I guess that magic is innate. If you aren't born magical, you can't learn no matter how hard you try. Even if the spark is in you, you'd still spend years learning and training."

"I don't mind training."

"That's good, I suppose. But what if, even if you had the spark, it's burnt out now because you've never used it? There is just too much I don't know about how one 'obtains' the ability to do magic. I just never gave it much thought - I don't even know if it is possible for you at this point."

She shrugged. "Maybe I'll be lucky."

"Maybe. Honestly, it will probably be a waste of time to try. If the magic community didn't find you when you turned 11, then the chance of you being magical is practically nil."

"Can't hurt to try."

"Guess not."

Ranma stopped short. Harry looked around and realized that they were at her cabin – it looked even smaller and cruder from the outside. The chimney wasn't particularly straight and the space between the logs was patched with mud to keep out drafts.

Harry stopped. "So… yeah. I guess I should thank you again."

Ranma turned. "For?"

"Helping me take out that vampire. It was much easier than I had hoped. A little… surprising, perhaps, but still…"

Ranma waved a hand dismissively. "It wasn't much, really. Anyway, what happens next? If you'll teach me, I would love to start tomorrow."

"I'll need a couple of days first, I should think. I've got to go to London and do some research, and also file a report at work. Will I be able to find you here?"

"How long will it take?"

"Couple of days, at most."

Ranma tapped a finger against her chin. "Hmm… Alright. I'll just stick around here for a bit more, then. If I'm not at the cabin when you come back, just wait – I'll probably be out training somewhere."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good." He stuck out his hand. "See you in a few?"

Ranma shook it and grinned. "Can't wait."

Harry stepped back and drew out his wand with a flourish. With a quick grin and a flick, he disappeared with a 'pop.'


	2. Chapter 2

These characters aren't mine. Yada Yada.

Chapter 2.

London, King's Cross, Ministry of Magic

Harry signed his name at the bottom of the parchment and put the quill into the holder. He gently blew over the paper before sprinkling some sand over the fresh ink. He gave it a few seconds before gently tapping the back of the parchment over the rubbish bin to shake off any excess. He gave the report one final read for mistakes before tapping it with his wand. It folded itself up into a paper airplane and took off, heading to be filed.

"Wotcher, 'Arry. Got here early for a Monday morning, didn't ya?"

Harry looked over his shoulder to see Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, fellow Auror, leaning against the door to his office. Her hair was brown today – as an animorphmagus, it could and did change color regularly to suit her mood. At 39, she was only a few years older than him – when he had first met her the age disparity had seemed enormous, but now they had been working together for so long it didn't matter.

"'Lo, Tonks. More like I got back very late last night. Have a seat." Harry quickly sketched the outline of a chair with his wand in the air. A comfortable captain's chair quickly materialized, and Harry pushed forward for Tonks. She swept her robes out of the way and made herself comfortable.

"Working weekends again, eh, Harry? Where were you this time?"

"Slovakia."

"Slovakia? What for?"

"Minor vampire disturbance. What some tea? I could use a spot – I haven't slept in a bit." With a flick of his wrist he conjured up a pot of tea and a couple of mugs.

"I'll bet," Tonks snorted. "Harry, why do you keep pushing yourself like this? You damn well know you don't have to go to Slovakia for a minor vampire disturbance. You could have just called their ministry and had one of their Aurors look into it."

Harry offered her a mug. "Sure, I could have. And by the time they got around to it, it could have been a major disturbance. Sugar? Milk?"

"Yes, please. Two lumps of sugar with a dash."

Harry obliged. They took a few seconds to stir the ingredients into their mugs.

Tonks took a sip of her tea and sighed. "When are you going to take a weekend off?"

Harry shrugged. "The Ministry's work is never done, Tonks."

"Only because you let it, Harry. Most people punch out at 5 o'clock on Friday and spend time with their family. Just because you've saved the world a couple of times doesn't mean you have to do it every day, Harry. You need to start looking after yourself, you know. You aren't getting any younger, and you've got a lot to offer somebody."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Are you going to harp about that again?"

"Yes, if I have to."

"How's Remus?"

Tonks shot him an exasperated look. "My husband's fine, thanks - as are the kids, the dog, and the house. You'd know if you came to visit more than once a month. Don't try to change the subject, or else I'll force you to talk about your non-existent love-life, or your daughter."

Harry grimaced. "You might as well get it over with, I can tell you're going to do it anyway."

She smiled. "Yes, eventually, but first I wanted to remind you that you are human, and you don't have to gallivant around chasing bad guys every single waking moment. You need to take some time for yourself and your family, Harry. When was the last time you sent your daughter more than just the random owl from some god-forsaken corner of the world? You barely spend any time with her, because it reminds you of what you've lost." Tonks reach forward and patted Harry's knee. "I… We... all your friends are just concerned, and we worry about you. Even Hermione thinks you work too hard."

"Hermione?" Harry chuckled. "That's rich."

Tonks nodded and shared a grin. "Yeah, I thought so too. But still, she does have a point. How many hours have you slept in the past week? And don't tell me plenty – give me a number."

"Er… Um… Plenty?"

"Harry…" She growled.

"Okay, um…" Harry started counting and quickly gave up. "Not enough, at any rate."

"You know, Harry, if you're going to work this hard, you should be the Minister of Magic or at least the head of the Department of Mysteries. Then you'd excuse, at least."

"And you know I don't want any more fame than I've already got. As it is, I can't even take care of a bogart without the press trying to doing a cover story about my 'heroics.'"

They grinned at each other and raised their mugs in a toast. A flurry of paper airplanes entered the office and began to fly in circles around Harry's head.

"Mind if I read these?"

"Go right ahead. Should I step out?"

"No, this should only take a few minutes. I can probably ignore half of them." He began to pluck the airplanes out of the air and read through them methodically. Some he put aside, some he simply balled up and tossed in the rubbish bin, and others he read carefully before tapping them with his wand to incinerate them. Tonks simply relaxed and enjoyed her tea.

"Anything good?"

Harry shook her head. "Not really. Reports about rumored Dark activities – mostly hogwash." He threw the last note into the bin. "Tonks, do you know anything about martial arts?"

"Martial arts?"

"Yeap."

"No, I don't. Why – do you need a new way of saving the world?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about maybe taking it up to keep in shape."

"Quiddich isn't enough?"

"It keeps the reflexes sharp, but it doesn't really keep me fit. Sitting on a broom doesn't get rid of the spare tire." Harry pinched his belly through the outside of his robes.

"Oh, sod off. You've not gained a lick of weight since you were in Hogwarts. Speaking of which, the boys were hoping you and Cheli could come over and play some Quiddich this weekend. Remus would love to see you as well. Ron and Hermione will be coming over. We were planning to have a weekend sleepover and match. Will you be free?"

Harry pursed his lips. "Not sure. I think I might have a commitment and I don't think Cheli can leave Hogwarts this weekend."

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "A date?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it, you. No – I've just got to repay a favor."

"A favor?"

"Minor thing. Someone in Slovakia helped me kill a vampire, so I've agreed to help her with something. Shouldn't take long."

Tonks didn't look convinced. "Well, if it doesn't take long, care to stop by?"

"I might. What time did you say?"

"Starts Saturday around noon, and then Sunday – all day. The Quiddich match should last both days. Dinner starts at sundown to make sure you get the maximum playtime. Remus will be cooking."

"Yum." Harry rubbed his belly. "Will he make that roast again?"

"I'll ask. It shouldn't be too much of a bother."

A few more airplanes trickled in to float over Harry's head. Tonks stood up. "Looks like a busy day for you. I'll head out. Thanks for the tea. Do you want to meet up for lunch?"

"Thanks, but I need to go talk to someone. I'll see you later, perhaps?"

Tonks nodded. "Right." She handed the mug back to Harry. He waved his hand and the chair and tea set disappeared. Tonks turned to leave but stopped before she reached the door.

"Um… Harry?"

"No, Tonks."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!"

"I could tell by the tone of your voice. I'm not interested in another blind date. Sorry."

She sighed. Tonks turned around to look at him. "Harry, it's been too many years since she died. It's past time you moved on. You've got to let go of the guilt. It's admirable you still love her, but you need to heal. You need to pay attention to those who are still alive, like your daughter. She still needs you, Harry."

Harry turned towards his desk and began to riffle through the notes he had put aside. "Thank you for you concern, Tonks. I have moved on, and I'd appreciate it if you kept Cheli out of this and stopped criticizing me as a parent."

"I'd stop if you would just shape up. You haven't forgotten her, and we all know it. You'll go on a couple of dates ever six months to satisfy your friends, but you still carry around your wedding ring."

"Tonks…" Harry began, but she interrupted him.

"I – we – all your friends – just want to see you happy again. We refuse to let you live in a shell, Harry. You've got so much to offer someone, if you could just let go. You've grieved too long. If you would just try and… "

Harry raised his voice loud enough to cut her off. "TONKS."

She frowned. "Fine. Sorry, Harry. At least I didn't talk about your love-life, right?"

"Thank heavens for small mercies, at least." He grinned slightly.

"So, how long _has_ it been, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know the answer to that one, Tonks."

Tonks grinned impishly. "Do you still know what it's for?"

"Yes, and if you don't stop asking me I'll seal your mouth shut – and any other orifices I can find. I thought you were going to let me work?"

"Remus wouldn't appreciate that so much."

"I'm sure he wouldn't. You best behave."

"If you promise to come to out this weekend with Cheli."

"I'll think about it. She might not be allowed out of school this early in the year."

"You know that McGonagall would let you take her. I promise I'll behave."

"Like I said, I'll think about it."

"Well, send an owl if you change your mind…"

"I will. See you later, Tonks."

She turned and waved over her shoulder. "Later, Harry."

Harry watched her leave for a minute before turning back to his work.

* * *

Round noon Harry slipped out of the office and popped over to the Leaky Cauldron. He quickly worked his way through the crowd as politely as possible, refusing to get drawn in to conversation. Back in the alley, he tapped the brick with his wand to open up the portal into Daigon Alley. He pulled up his hood and made his way quickly to Ollivander's Wand Shop. The shop itself was narrow and shabby, and the sign over the door in peeling gold letters proclaimed, "Maker of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." In the window, a single wand lay on a purple cushion in the dusty window.

The bell rang softly as he opened the door. Inside the store, thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling held the wands that each wizard would come to test. His skin began to tingle and his hair stood on end. Harry was suddenly carried back to that time when he got his wand at the age of 11, so long ago. He didn't recognize it then, but now he knew what the caused the strange sensation- the magic cores of the wands that lined the shelves emanated raw magic that hadn't imprinted upon a soul yet. It was elemental magic, magic that was simply waiting for a master in order to be unleashed.

"Ah… Harry Potter. Eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather, supple. I trust your wand is in working well?" The silver-haired owner of the shop stepped out from the rows of wands to meet Harry as he spoke. Ollivander looked unchanged from when Harry first saw him over 25 years ago. He moved a little slower, but still had the same piercing gaze and strange mannerism.

Ollivander had disappeared during the war with Voldemort, only to return suddenly a few years after the downfall of the Dark Lord. He never gave an explanation, but the little wand shop soon returned to business as usual. Harry would come here from time to time to have tea or talk with Mr. Ollivander. He was one of the few people who treated Harry with respect for his abilities, and didn't consider him a walking celebrity. Harry appreciated it, and in turn never pestered Mr. Ollivander about what happened in those intervening years. Today was a business trip, though.

"Er, Fine thanks, Mr. Ollivander."

"May I see your wand, please, Mr. Potter?"

"Certainly." Harry dug his wand out of his pocket and handed it over. Mr. Ollivander held it up before his eyes and examined it very closely. He gave a slight nod and handed it back gently.

"You have certainly lived up to the expectations. Great things, Mr. Potter. Great things."

Harry shifted a bit. "Thank you."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I came to ask some questions of you, actually." Harry unfastened his cloak.

"I shall answer to the best of my ability. Will this take long? We can retire to my chambers for some repast." Mr. Ollivander turned and began to shuffle towards the back of the store.

"No, thank you. This should be quick. First, is magic innate? Second, can someone, say, my age, who's never been trained in magic, still learn?"

Mr. Ollivander paused and turned back. "The second question I can answer for you easily. Yes, magic can still be learned regardless of age, but it becomes more difficult as the mind becomes set in its patterns and less pliable." Mr. Ollivander paused, "Magic takes a certain amount of… imagination to use, and children are most gifted in this way. Once the mind had been trained to see past the possible and into the realm of the imaginable, then age is no longer a barrier. In fact, age confers experience, which means that it can think of even more outlandish ways of accomplishing the impossible. This is why the greatest wizards and witches are adults, not children, even though children have by far the most active imaginations." He walked over to a couple of chairs and beckoned for Harry to sit.

"As for the first question… That is the great mystery of magic, isn't it? It seems it must be, and yet, if it were so, then the magician with two non-magical parents could never become magical."

"Yes," Harry began, "but again, what if there were magical backgrounds on either both sides or only one side of the family? Then, you'd have latten magical properties that combine and create magical offspring, correct?"

"Correct, but what about magical parents that produce non-magical children? I fear it is much more complex than genetics, Harry." Ollivander paused. "My guess would be that it is a combination of factors – genetics might created the innate aptitude to sense magic, but opportunity or experience might create the ability to channel magic."

"So basically there isn't a way of knowing, is there?"

"I'm sorry. I don't think there is. Why do you pose such a curious question?"

"I've met a person whom wishes to study magic. However, she is about my age and as far as I can tell never used magic. However, she does some incredible things that resemble magic. I just wish to know if I would be wasting my time to attempt to instruct her."

"Why would you wish to instruct a muggle in the use of magic?"

"I don't know, really. I just feel this… urge to do so." Harry shrugged. "I can't explain it, but something tells me that should do it."

"Then perhaps it is the right thing to do. Intuition is strange thing –magical, some would argue."

The two shared a small grin. Mr. Ollivander became serious once more. He pressed his fingers together in a steeple, and brought his hands to his pursed lips. "Hmmm… If you wish to instruct her, the easiest answer would be to bring her in for a wand. If a wand reacts to her presence, then yes, I imagine she would be able to learn magic. The converse would be true as well. Does this satisfactorily answer your question, Harry?"

"Yes, I think you have helped me a great deal. Thank you very much." Harry stood and offered his hand. Mr. Ollivander shook it with a firm but slow motion as he took his feet. They exchanged a few more pleasantries while Harry refastened his cloak and stepped outside.

* * *

Harry wasn't really paying attention to his work at the ministry. The standard flow of requests and reports shuffled across his desk, as well as the random assortment of junk mail that typical came in the form of admiration letters or "support our cause" spam that came when ever word circulated he was in the office. He signed off on reports when necessary, denied or approved requests, and generally vaporized the spam with spells to spectacular effect.

Mostly, Harry spent his time researching what he could about martial arts. He was no Hermione, but he had gotten much better at it by necessity. Mostly, experts seemed unable to agree whether or not "Chi" or "Ki" even existed, but all agreed that extremely proficient marital artists could do things that seemed unnatural to ordinary muggles.

"Essentially, using mental focus, relaxation, and posture, practitioners create a link between their mind, and that of their body, through various training methods - in order to become more sensitive to the internal processes taking place throughout their own physical being.

Acupuncture and acupressure, both work by distracting from or adding to, the pain stimuli passed through to the nervous system. These procedures help stimulate the manufacture of endorphins, which are the body's own opiates. There are many low level electrical processes occurring. Use of these pressure points have been shown as being able to affect the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature."

A gentle tapping at the window pulled Harry out of his studies. A sturdy brown messenger owl sat on the sill, blinking slowly. Harry pulled open the window and reached forward to untie the message that was tied to the owl's ankle. Once the message was free, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sickle, placed it in the pouch tied to the other leg, and thanked the bird before as it flew off. Harry unrolled the parchment and read:

Hi Dad,

Tonks just sent me an invitation to the Lupin's place this weekend for a Quiddich sleepover. Will you check with Tonks to see if the Gryffindor team can come, too? We can turn it into a practice retreat before the season! Will you come pick me up at Hogwarts or Hogsmead? Hope to hear from you soon!

Love,

Achelois

P.S. Tonks said you had a date this weekend. Is that true?

XOXOXOX

Harry ground his teeth and stomped back to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a small note pad, quickly scribbled out a scathing message to Tonks. It read:

"Tonks – Thanks for getting my daughter all excited about this weekend. When you have to watch the disappointment on her face, perhaps you'll think a little bit before entrapping me like this again.

Harry

He didn't send it, however. Instead, he sighed, ripped it up, and re-wrote the message saying that if he were free, he'd be glad to join them on Saturday. He also inquired whether having additional guests (a.k.a the Gryffindor team) would be a problem.

On impulse, he scribbled out a quick note to Ranma and headed to the owl post.

This was going to be a long week. Might as well warn the guest of honor.

* * *

Ranma's eyes snapped open. She took a deep breath, purging her mind of the remaining images from her dream. It was an old dream – more of a recurring nightmare - that she hadn't had in years. She sat up on the pallet, pondering what triggered remembrances of her greatest failure as a martial artist. It was the only time she had won a fight and regretted doing so, because the cost of winning had been so incredibly high. The last images faded away as she breathed, taken away with her exhalations as she became calm once again.

The cabin was dark – the few windows did not allowed light to penetrate. Ranma didn't need light in this or any place, though. She could navigate in pure darkness just by using her other senses. If all else failed she could also just use some of her ki to produce visible light. She got up off the pallet and deftly worked her way over to the fireplace, weaving around the few pieces of furniture. At the fireplace, she reached over to the stack of wood and pulled out a small log. Ranma flared her ki just a bit in the hand holding the log, causing it to burst into flames. She looked at it a second, remembering how long it had taken her to learn that simple technique. She tossed the now flaming log into the hearth, and added a couple more from the stack.

Once a good flame was burning, Ranma grabbed the cauldron off the hook and left the cabin to fetch some water. Sunrise was still hours away, and the air was still gripped by the pre-dawn cold. She walked to the stream and allowed her footsteps crunching on the frozen ground and snow. She squatted next to the frozen stream surface, broke the thin skin of ice and filled the cauldron. She stripped and used the water to bath, not shielding herself from the frigid temperature.

She did this every morning – not only did it wake her up, but it also helped her body to adjust to the extremes she subjected it to. Every moment of every day was training, regardless of how mundane the task. Just because she could ignore the cold didn't mean she should. Finished, she emptied out the cauldron and refilled it, got dressed, and then walked back to the cabin.

Before she reached the front door, she paused to listen. In the distance, she could hear the faint sound of beating wings that didn't belong to a local bird. As the wing beats drew closer, Ranma placed the kettle on the ground and turned to face the sound. A tawny colored owl with black bars and dark eyes wove through the trees to land lightly on ground near Ranma's feet. It craned its neck to look up at Ranma and hooted softly two times before extending its right leg.

Ranma cocked her head at the strange behavior. The owl hooted again and dipped its head towards its leg. Ranma squatted, carefully observing the bird as it repeated the ritual. Not only was this owl on the wrong continent, it seemed completely unafraid of her. Rather, it simply looked her in the eye, hooted occasionally, and shook its right foot.

Ranma glanced down and noticed a small square of paper tied to the animal's leg. It stated hooting more vigorously and rapidly bobbed its head. Concerned, she carefully reached forward and began to untie the paper. The owl stood still until she finished, and then stood and hooted at her expectantly. The outside of the paper had Ranma's name scratched on it in an unfamiliar handwriting, and it had been folded in quarters and sealed with wax.

The owl continued to hoot at her softly. Ranma just looked at it for a second before breaking the seal. It was a letter addressed to her.

"Hi Ranma,

This is from Harry Potter – we met a few days ago. This is crazy, but after seeing you take on that vampire, I've been more than a little curious about martial arts.

Sorry about the owl, and I hope she didn't bother you too much to get you to untie the letter. Witches and Wizards often use birds like owls to deliver messages to people, and sometimes we forget how weird it can be. I hope this finds you well.

To the point: We had discussed briefly about a learning exchange of magic for martial arts. If you agree, I shall arrive on Friday morning to take you to a testing center to see if you _can_ learn. If you have the aptitude, this will take a long time – possibly years. I say this not to scare you, but to prepare you. As a result, you should probably expect to spend a great deal of time in England. I hope for a quid pro quo. I'll teach you if you teach me. We can discuss details when I arrive.

To that point, my family and friends are interested in meeting you this weekend. To reply, simply write a small letter and tie it to the owl's leg. She is instructed not to leave until she gets a reply from you.

Regards,

Harry P.

P.S.

If you have any meat or mice, the owl would really appreciate it. Her name is Ginny."

"Weird." Ranma reread the letter and flipped it over. She shrugged. Ranma looked down at the owl. "Ginny, huh?"

The owl nodded once and hooted in reply.

"And you are waiting for a reply from me, right?"

Again, the owl hooted and nodded.

"Alright, give me a moment, then." Ranma went inside the cabin and came back with a small inkstone, brush, and inkstick. She poured a little water into the stone, and carefully set to grinding some ink on the stone. After a few minutes of grinding, the ink reached a desired consistency and color. Ranma penned a simple, "Sounds good. Agreed – see you Friday. From Ranma" on the back of Harry's note.

"So, Ginny, I'm supposed to tie this to your leg like it was, right?" Ranma received a hoot in response. As she bent down, the owl extended her right leg and waited patiently as Ranma gently retied the letter. The owl just cocked her head and looked at Ranma inquisitively after she finished.

Ranma asked, "What?" She received a soft hoot in reply. The two continued to stare at each other for a few minutes. Ranma shrugged. "You want a mouse or something?" Ginny hooted softly and clicked her beak. "Alright, just give me a minute." Ranma walked into the cabin. The fire was burning well, and it cast illumination on side of deer curing on the adjacent wall. Ranma pulled a small knife off the mantle and cut off an ounce of meat, replaced the knife and then walked back outside. The owl was waiting expectantly. Ranma tossed the tidbits to the owl and watched as she snatched them from the air and gobbled hungrily. When she finished, Ginny hooted softly twice and blinked before taking to the air. She quickly disappeared as Ranma watched.

"Well, that was strange." With a shrug, Ranma took the water inside and got ready to train. It was Monday – she wouldn't have to think about it for a bit yet.

* * *

"Sounds good. Agreed – see you Friday. From Ranma."

Harry read the note one more time. Something so simple, and yet…

He had been excited that she accepted, of course. He put in his request for a day off, which the office had been overjoyed to give him. They had tried to push for him to take the week off, but Harry had refused. And then, he started to get nervous. For some reason, as Friday crept closer, his nervous increased. He hadn't realized it at first, but Tonks had pointed it out after he had visited her cube for the 14th time in the space of two hours. Of course Tonks razzed him about it, making thinly veiled references to Harry's impending "date." She seemed tickled pink, and kept making off-handed comments about "favors."

Once Tonks pointed it out, Harry realized he was nervous. It had been a long time since he had really felt anything but tired, really, so he began to examine what had caused it. Finally, he was able to peg the nervousness for what it was – nervous excitement. Harry was shocked to realize that for the first time in a long time, he was actually excited about meeting someone and learning something new. Harry's naturally inquisitive nature and enthusiasm was welling forth after a long dry spell.

A flurry of letters followed the first. By Thursday, Ginny was positively worn out by all the flights back and forth. It couldn't be helped – there were a lot of details to work out and a remarkably short time to do it. Harry outlined what to expect – for example, if things went smoothly and Ranma could learn, she'd have to plan on staying in England for a number of years. That meant applying for a residency permit and a permit to learn magic since she was not of English citizen ship.

Also, lodging had to be arranged as well as financial arrangements. Ranma was remarkably agreeable to his suggestions. As she wrote, "nothing keeps me in Slovakia except the fact that I have no where else to be." Harry offered to let her stay at one of his houses when she first arrived. He still had 12 Grimauld place as well as his own private residence. Ranma had a little money saved up, but she'd have to find some sort of work to finance living in England if she stayed for a few years.

Harry also explained about the weekend retreat he'd been roped into, and how she was welcome to come is she desired. He proceeded to give a detailed guest list and some background about the group.

As the rest of the week dragged on, Harry also realized that he looked forward to the end of the workweek more than he had in a long time. So, once Friday morning arrived, he got out of bed, took a quick shower, got dressed, he put on his cloak, gave a half-hearted attempt to tame his wild hair, and grabbed his wand. He grinned once at his dresser mirror, which squawked in surprise. Harry Disapparated with a 'pop' before the mirror could make any cracks about him smiling.

* * *

Ranma was finishing a kata behind the cabin when her danger sense flared suddenly. She heard a soft 'pop' and the feeling disappeared, but she immediately masked her aura, and dropped into an alert action stance. She silently worked her way through the woods towards the cabin, taking care not to crunch the snow underfoot. She quickly realized who was there when she heard a man shout, "Hello? Anyone here?" Once she got to the corner, she saw Harry squinting in the sun, looking at the cabin.

"Ranma? Are you here? It's Harry Potter." He began to walk towards the front door, his footsteps crunching loudly on the frozen snow. Ranma walked up silently and stood only a foot behind him, hands clasped behind her back, waiting to see how long it would take before he noticed. Harry knocked on the door a few times, shouting "Hello?" in between each knock. This continued for a few minutes until Ranma started to giggle.

Harry spun around, eyes wide with his wand drawn, his other hand up in front of him in a defensive posture. She laughed outright. He cursed when he realized whom it was, making her laugh even more.

"Egad!"

"Hi, Harry. I must say, that was quite amusing."

"How long have you been there?"

"Oh, practically the whole time. I was wondering if you'd notice. I wish you could have seen the look on your face – it really was priceless." She giggled again.

Harry blushed and cleared his throat. "I'm glad I could provide some entertainment, then."

"I should apologize. I don't get a lot of visitors, and those who do come are much harder to sneak up on. I think you did as well as could be expected. Anyway, how did you arrive? I heard a sound and then you were just in the area. I didn't feel you approach at all."

"Oh, Magic, of course. I Apparated in from London."

"Apparate? From London? What does that mean?"

"Er…well. It means I teleported from London."

Ranma's eyes grew big. "You mean honest to goodness teleportation? How long did it take from here to London?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but I imagine the whole journey took less than a few seconds. The distance doesn't impact travel time, it simply takes more energy."

Ranma looked positively elated. "Could you show me?"

"Er… Well, I was going to port with you to London. Are you ready to go?"

"Not yet, but I could be very shortly. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, please."

Ranma opened the door and walked past. "Come on in."

Harry nodded and stepped inside. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the firelight. Inside, Ranma had pulled a small changing screen from against the wall and walked behind it. She pointed to the bed and nodded at Harry. "Sit over there."

Once Harry sat down, she went behind the screen and started to change, piling her clothes on top of the screen. Harry could see the top of her hair and flashes of arm as she pulled off her training top and sports bra and switched to a cheongsam. The image of Ranma in a sports bra so engrossed Harry's imagination that he didn't hear his name until the Ranma had repeated it three times.

"Harry?"

He blushed. "Gahh.. I'm sorry!"

"About what?"

"Nothing! I mean…"

Ranma poked her head around the screen to look at Harry for a minute. "You alright?"

He cleared his throat. "Yes, fine, thank you."

"How did you ever train an owl to send letters like that?"

"Oh, you don't have to train them. Owls are very magical animals, and if you can use magic, they can understand you very easily. Deadly useful as messengers – the can find just about anybody in the world unless they are actively trying to hide."

Ranma finished changing and grabbed her cloths off the top of the screen before folding it up. She then carefully hung her dirty clothes on a wall peg to dry. As she did this, she asked, "So, Ginny – that's the owl's name, right?"

"Yes."

"She yours?"

"Yes – well, my daughter's really."

"Right. You mentioned that. She'll be there this weekend, right? How old?"

"She'll be turning 14 soon."

Ranma smirked and shook her head. "Nice. Hell of an age to be a kid." She picked her clothes up off the top of the screen and folded it up.

"So you say." Harry took a seat and watch Ranma cross the room.

She hopped up on the pallet and crossed her legs Indian style, putting her back against the wall. "Your letter mentioned a quid pro quo. How is this training going to work? I'd be happy to teach you some martial arts, and I of course can't wait to learn magic."

"Well, there are a couple of options, but that is dependent upon a great big if."

"If?"

"If you can learn magic, that is. Not everyone can."

"Ah."

Harry nodded. "Ah indeed. Now, I have a friend who will be happy to test you, but he resides in London."

"What happens if I can't learn?"

"Well, two things – I can take you back here, or you can stay in London and teach me martial arts, if you are still willing."

Ranma rubbed her chin a bit. "Sounds fair. How many years are we talking about? I couldn't possibly make you a 'decent' martial artist in less than 10 years."

Harry blinked. "10 years? I was thinking more of one or two, with the option to extend."

Ranma scoffed. "How long did it take you to learn magic?"

"Well, I've been practicing for 25 years."

"And you're still learning, right?"

"Of course." Harry nodded.

"Same with martial arts. How about this - I'll train you for as long as you are willing to teach me magic, provided you can and we don't kill each other."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, Harry – I don't know you, and you don't know me. I'm about to enter in agreement to teach you martial arts, something I take _very_ seriously. I'm sure you are the same way about magic. So, before I do that, we should both probably set a few ground rules."

"Sounds fair."

"First, my requirements: While I teach you my art, you will refer to me as Sensei only. You will follow orders during training. You will not pass on anything I instruct you in unless given permission by me. If you agree to abide by these rules, I'll agree to teach you."

"That seems reasonable." Harry thought about it for a bit. "Well, if I have to impose rules, it will be that you take the study of magic seriously. Second, you will listen to my instruction and defer to my judgment. Finally, if you so much as dabble in the forbidden Dark Arts, I will cease to teach you."

"Dark Arts?"

"Magic involving death and pain. It has no practical use, but some people insist on meddling in it."

"Got it."

Harry pulled out his wand. "Are you happy with my terms?"

"Are you happy with mine?" Ranma responded.

"I am. If you want, I can make up a contract."

Ranma waved her hand. "No need. My word is my bond – if I promise to do it, I will do it. I will simply expect the same from you." She stuck out her hand. "You English folk shake to seal deals, right?"

Harry looked at her hand for a second before grabbing it and shaking. "I've no idea what I signed up for, but I am excited."

Ranma smiled. "Me too."

"So, shall we to London, then?"

"One second!" Ranma vanished in front of Harry's eyes. There was no sound, but there was a slight breeze. Before he could open his mouth to cry out, Ranma appeared in front of him, a small backpack upon her shoulders.

"Wha… What did you just do? I didn't see you put on any cloaks or swallow anything…"

"Oh, that…hehehe. Sorry. I got excited. I basically just moved faster than your eye could follow."

"You can do that?" Harry stared at her incredulously.

"Sure – the brain can only process 30 images a second. So, if you move fast enough, the eye doesn't have a chance to register that you're there. Pretty easy with enough training. But teleportation… that's amazing. You're going to have to teach me how to do that!"

Harry just stared at her for a second. She was beaming. He started to smile, and pretty soon he started to laugh for no reason. It felt good. Ranma joined him soon enough, and the two of them stood laughing for a few minutes, till the elation managed to reach a more manageable level.

"I'm really looking forward to learning from you, Ranma." He extended his hand again. Ranma shook it.

"That makes two of us."

"Ready to go to London?"

"You bet!"

"Let me hold onto your arm, then." Harry reached forward and grabbed Ranma's bicep. The shock must have registered on his face that even though she looked completely relaxed, her muscles were as hard as a rock.

Ranma smirked. "So, you going to stand there and admire my muscles or get us to London?"

Harry smirked. "London. But remind me not to piss you off, okay?"

"Don't piss me off." She grinned back at him. Harry chose that moment to Disapparate. No matter how many times he felt it, the sensation was… unique. It felt like he was being squeezed through a small whole, only to be forced out all at once on the other side after you'd been turned inside out. He hardly gave it a second thought anymore, but when his feet touched ground in London, Ranma stood wide-eyed and tense. Harry tried not to, but he laughed. Ranma scowled.

He waved his hands defensively. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Your face was priceless."

"You could have warned me, at least."

"And miss the chance for pay pack for scaring the bejesus out of me?"

"Point taken. Where are we?"

Ranma and Harry stood in a small alley between a nondescript pup and an antique shop. The alley was dark and dank, piled high with trash and foul smelling mounds of refuse.

Harry waved his arm around. "This is London. You're standing next to The Leaky Cauldron, entrance to one of the premier spots for magic in all of Europe, Diagon Alley."

"I hope it's more pleasant inside."

"Oh, it is, but one has to take precautions not to be seen when traveling in broad daylight. Come on, let's go." Harry dropped her arm and moved to the alley mouth, looking both ways before stepping into the daylight. Ranma followed closely behind.

Harry turned left towards an old wooden door. Ranma's eyes wanted to slide by the door, and the harder she concentrated the more her eyes wanted to wander. Her ki senses weren't affected, but her normal senses wanted to disregard the information they were giving her. Harry raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Harry?"

He paused. "What?"

"Why is it so hard to look at this building? If I didn't know it was here, I'd never find it."

He shrugged. "Magic, Ranma. If you don't know about it, you can't find it. It's a protection issue. Not everyone thinks magic is a good thing. It is reassuring that you can see the place, though. It should be invisible if you didn't have at least some aptitude for magic. Just fix it in your mind that this building should be here and that sensation should go away." He knocked on the door, which opened immediately. He pulled up his hood and whispered, "Follow me."

Ranma nodded.

The pub was fairly dark, with a roaring fire in the hearth even though it was quite warm outside. The few patrons who were there sat at the bar, talking to an old man who was wiping pewter mugs with a cloth. The barkeep looked up when Harry entered. He clearly recognized Harry, but was puzzled as he glanced at Ranma. Harry held a finger to his lips and the barkeep nodded. Nobody else at the bar bothered to look up as Harry made his way to the back of the bar, and stepped out through the back door to a chilly little courtyard filled with trash bins. Harry pulled out his wand and tapped a series of bricks. The last brick he tapped began to wiggle and spin. As it rotated it widened into an iron wrought arch, with the words "Diagon Alley" hanging from the top.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley. Alright, in you go, Ranma."

Ranma stepped through, glancing around as she passed through the arch. Excitement and surprise were clear on her face as she looked around at the various shops as they passed by. The first stop was Gringott's, where Harry took Ranma to exchange what money she had. Ranma stared at the goblins even after Harry warned her it was impolite to do so. Harry told her about the legends surrounding the bank, including the supposed dragon that guarded the vaults. Ranma seemed intrigued by the notion more than scared.

The streets were fairly empty as Harry guided her towards Ollivander's Wand shop, but Ranma kept asking Harry questions about the stores they passed on the way. Harry did his best to answer the questions he got along the way, giving Ranma a little detail about each store and what it sold. Soon, they reached the wand shop and stood outside.

Ranma shivered. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Harry asked.

"Felt like…" Ranma trailed off with a shrug. "I don't know. It's hard to describe. But what ever it is, it's coming from this shop."

"Well, this shop is Mr. Ollivander's Wand Shop. He's the gentleman who'll test you for magic. Shall we go in?"

Ranma nodded. Harry pushed open the door and the bell rang softly. Inside the store, thousands of narrow boxes were piled neatly right up to the ceiling, holding the wands that each wizard would come to test. Ranma walked through the door slowly, looking around carefully.

Ranma rubbed her arms. "That… feeling is 10 times worse in here. It's like…"

Mr. Ollivander stepped out from behind a row of boxes. Ranma squeaked and took up a defensive posture, causing him to stop. Ranma blushed and stood up, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hello. I'm sorry to have startled you, miss."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump. It's just this place… I've never felt anything like this. It's making my senses all screwy."

Mr. Ollivander nodded. "So you are sensitive to the nature of this place. My name is Mr. Ollivander." He extended his hand to Ranma and they shook. He adjusted his glasses with his left hand and narrowed his eyes as they shook hands. "This is your friend, Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Indeed, Mr. Ollivander."

"Interesting." Mr. Ollivander release Ranma's hand and turned to Harry, leading him to a seat. "Why don't you have a seat over there?" Once Harry sat, Mr. Ollivander walked over and stood in front of Ranma, examining her closely. "What is your name, child?"

"Ranma. Sorry about this." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the floor.

"Just Ranma?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

"For now, yes."

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone quite as interesting as you before, Ms. Ranma." He cocked his head. "Have you had exposure to magic before?"

Ranma nodded. "Yes."

"What type of magic?"

Ranma paused. "All types, but mostly Chinese stuff. It was all done to me, and mostly against my will."

Mr. Ollivander rubbed his chin. He pulled out a measuring tape and said, "Which arm is your wand hand?"

"Wand hand?"

"Are you left or right handed?"

"Both."

Mr. Ollivander paused. "Ah. Which hand do you write with?"

"Oh, my right, mostly."

"Could you please extend that arm, then?"

Ranma did as instructed. Mr. Ollivander dropped the tape measure on the ground and turn to the myriad boxes stacked on the wall. The tape measure went to work. Without guidance from Mr. Ollivander, it began to measure practically every dimension of Ranma's body, including normal measurements like from finger tip to shoulder, shoulder to waist, and strange ones like the length of Ranma's nose. Before long, Mr. Ollivander called out, "That's enough," and the tape measure fell to the ground, lifeless.

Mr. Ollivander held up what looked like a long pen box. "Yes… Well, Ranma, let's give this a try. 13 inches, holly with dragon's heart string core. Pick it up and give it a wave."

Ranma carefully reached forward and stopped her hand just above the wand. "I… I don't think this wand wants me to pick it up, Mr. Ollivander?"

"Ohhh? Why do you say that, Ms. Ranma?"

She knitted her eyebrows. "It's hard to explain. As my hand gets near it, the… force coming from the wand seems to be trying to get away from my hand."

"You can see this?"

She shook her head. "No, but I can feel it. I just know..."

Mr. Ollivander shook his head. "In all my years… give it a try anyway, please."

Ranma nodded and picked up the wand and gave it a wave. Nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander seemed pleased.

"Excellent!" With that, he pranced into the back of the store, and returned a few minutes later with a wide assortment of boxes. Glee was plain on Mr. Ollivander's face as he asked Ranma to try wand after wand, not even bothering to tell Ranma what it was or what it was he was looking for. He did ask Ranma for feed back on what each wand felt like, nodding as if his suspicions were verified with each wand they tried. After nearly two hours of this, though, Mr. Ollivander's face was positively manic, a huge smile plastered across his face.

"Mr. Potter, I do believe you have brought me my toughest customer yet!"

Harry stood. "Does that mean Ranma can't learn magic?"

"Oh no, quite the contrary! I think she has great potential – I don't see how she was missed in the first place. The problem seems to be that there may not be a wand in my store that will suffice for a lady of such… interesting qualities."

Ranma apologized.

"Oh, don't worry Ms. Ranma. I rather enjoy this. Back to it!" With those words, Mr. Ollivander proceeded to pull out even more boxes, practically ripping them open and shoving the wands into Ranma's hand.

After a bit more of this treatment, Ranma spoke up. "Um… Mr. Ollivander?"

"Yes Ms. Ranma?"

"I can tell you that none of the wands you've picked… like me."

"Of course they don't! They act like they've never seen a woman before. For the life of me I can't understand it, but it is certainly entertaining, isn't it?"

"A woman? Are the wands gender specific?"

"They tend to be, yes."

"Then… wands geared towards women will probably not be happy with me."

Mr. Ollivander raised an eyebrow and rocked back on his heels, a wand box clasped between his hands. "Then how do you propose we surmount obstacle, Ms. Ranma?"

"Perhaps… You might want to try wands that are geared more gender neutral. Or favor men, perhaps." Ranma shrugged. "I think the wands will like it better."

Mr. Ollivander nodded. "Then let's change tactics. You seem to have a knack for this – perhaps you should wander through the store and look for a more receptive wand?"

"Well, what exactly should I be looking for? Everything I've felt so far has been" Ranma cocked her head. "… skittish. Like the wands don't trust me."

Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Exactly. They haven't. I've never quite seen anything like this, truth be told."

"So, I should be looking for a wand that trusts me?" Ranma asked.

"Yes." Mr. Ollivander nodded. "There is more to it than that, of course, but that would be a good first step."

"Do you mind if I…" Ranma motioned towards the untouched stacks of wands lining the walls.

"Oh no, please, feel free!"

Ranma wandered slowly down the wall of the store, her hand hovering inches over the boxes as she meandered. Mr. Ollivander followed behind her, watching Ranma's face carefully. She wandered in and out of the aisles, starting at the top of the stacks and working her way methodically down the rows. Every once in a while she'd stop, pull out a box, and give the wand inside a wave. Nothing happened, but with each wand she pulled, Mr. Ollivander became even happier, if that was possible. Finally, she reached the last row of boxes. When she reached the last column of boxes, she stopped and squatted to pick out a couple of boxes near the bottom.

Mr. Ollivander read the labels and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"May I?" Ranma asked.

"Please!"

Ranma opened the first box and glanced up at Mr. Ollivander.

Mr. Ollivander whispered, "Hawthorn and dragon scale. Give it a wave."

Ranma picked up the wand and gave it a flick. Nothing happened. She shook her head.

"Weird."

"What was weird, Ms. Ranma?"

"Nothing. Something's blocking this one – the energy won't flow. Let me try the other one." She opened the other box.

"Sequoia and Chimaera Scale. Very rare – very powerful."

Ranma nodded. She picked up the wand and smiled up at Mr. Ollivander. He smiled back, and said encouragingly, "Give it a wave, then."

Ranma wrapped her hand around the base of the wand and held it at her waist, pointing the tip at the floor. With a quick flip of the wrist, she brought it up in a spiraling motion with the tip pointed at the ceiling. For a second nothing happened, but slowly a blue mist began to pour out of the top of the wand, until it became a rushing torrent, filling up the small shop like fog. The mist stopped coming out of the wand and then began to collapse inward to swirl around Ranma's feet, until a dense roiling cloud of fog nearly three feet thick encircled her to the waist.

"What," asked Harry, "Is that?"

The fog began to take the shape of coils as it spun and shimmered along its length. A draconian face formed, scaly and elongated, with long white whiskers and canine teeth three inches long. The cloud continued to define itself until finally the coils of the dragon were apparent, still shrouded in mist. The head of the creature began to wind around Ranma's waist and up her torso until it was able to stare her in the face. It looked at her for a long moment before continuing to travel up her body, following the path of her still extended arm until it reached the tip of her wand, where it shrank and flowed back into the wood. The rest of the creature followed the same path up her body until the entire apparition had vanished back from where it had been summoned.

Ranma shivered. "That was… incredible." She dropped her arm and looked at the wand.

Mr. Ollivander clapped. "Bravo! Excellent! I never thought I'd be able to sell that wand, but it seems we have a match." He walked forward and picked the wand out of Ranma's hand, and put it back in the box.

She looked at the wand in the box. "So, this little stick of wood has that much power?"

Mr. Ollivander shook his head. "No, just the opposite. That wand has no power in and of itself – all the power comes from the possessor of the wand – it is simply a tool to focus and channel."

"Oh… I get it. So, what was that whole smoke dragon thing?"

"Usually, the wand manifests what the mind's eye perceives as power. We tend to test children, and for them, power manifests as lights or fireworks. You seemed to have quite an active imagination, however."

Ranma shrugged. "Oh, I was thinking of this technique I learned once…"

"That will be 12 galleons and 3 sickles, please!"

Ranma blinked. "12 whatsits and 3 whosers?"

"The coins we got earlier, Ranma."

"Oh!"

Ranma dug into her pants and pulled out a bunch of coins. Harry helped her count out the appropriate funds, explaining which coins did what and their approximate value. He handed over the coins to Mr. Ollivander and shook his hand. "Thank you again for agreeing to see her, Mr. Ollivander."

He nodded. "Please keep me informed of her progress. This will be quite interesting to see. I expect wonderful things from you, Ms. Ranma." Mr. Ollivander handed her the box.

Ranma bowed. They exchanged a few more pleasantries until Harry begged off and stewarded her out the door. Once outside, Harry glanced both ways down the streets of Diagon Alley and headed towards Flourish & Blotts.

"Come on – I've got to get you a few books, and then we'll head over to the Ministry to register, and then to where you'll be staying for the weekend."

The stop at the bookstore took longer than necessary. Ranma kept wandering around the shelves causing mischief as Harry attempted to pick appropriate first year texts. She found a copy of "The Monster Book of Monsters" and was playing with it delightedly as it attempted to bite her in vain. Harry finally managed to get her out of the store by capitulating and agreeing she could have a copy of the book "as a pet."

Harry then made the unfortunate mistake of mentioning that Florean Fortescue's was an ice cream parlour. Poor Florean was never found, but his widow kept the place open in honor of his memory. Ranma took it upon herself to honor that memory by devouring 3 ice cream sundaes unabashedly. Her defense was simply, "I haven't had ice cream in years." When Harry marveled at how much she packed away, her reply was simply, "a girl's got to make up for lost time, ya know."

Once Harry had managed to convince Ranma not to order a fourth sundae and settled the bill, they Apparated out side of the Ministry of Magic. Ranma made a face at the method of travel, muttering about how she'd never get used to having her insides twisted around (especially after all that ice cream). Once the grumbling subsided, Harry as he asked her to enter the abandoned phone booth with him. Once she was inside, he picked up the apparently broken handset, dialed 62442, and waited. Suddenly, the small booth was filled with sound requesting the names of the occupants and reasons for visiting. Harry stated his name and said that he was bringing a visitor to fill out permits. In short order, a pass was issued through the coin return slot and the phone booth began to descend into the depths, depositing them in the ministry's lobby.

Harry motioned for Ranma to follow – she tried to take in all the sites as Harry lead her through the various twists and turns necessary to find the office for the necessary magic and residency permit forms. The filling out of the forms was pretty mundane – in two weeks time Ranma would have to return and verify where she's be staying and how she would be supporting her study while in England. Once they filled out and filed all the appropriate forms (and paid the fees associated), they headed back outside.

Ranma folded her hands behind her head and leaned lazily against the telephone booth they had just used to exit the Ministry.

"I must compliment you on how well you're handling all this, Ranma. I have been doing it for 25 years, and I still get bewildered sometimes."

She shrugged. "I've had a weird life. This seems pretty par for the course." She stood up straight and pulled her new wand out of her pocket. She seemed to ponder it for a bit before making it disappear. "Anyway, where too next, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath as he pulled out his wand. "To my friends' place, where we'll be staying the weekend. Just to warn you, Ranma. These people have my best interests at heart. But they might seem a little… forward. Don't let that throw you off, okay?"

"Sure. How bad can it be, anyway?"

Harry grimaced. "Did you really have to say that?"

"Come on, Harry. What could possibly go wrong?"

Harry groaned. "Do you hate me that much already?"

"What?"

"One thing you'll learn, Ranma, is when you deal with magic, those sort of statements are remarkable prophetic." Harry grumbled as he grabbed Ranma's arm and Apparated to the Lupin's.


	3. Chapter 3

Yada Yada. Not my characters.

Chapter 3.

Ranma popped into existence on a ridgeline. Below her stretched an expansive moor of heather, surrounded by mountains with a small, secluded lake not far off in the distance. The purple of the heather stretched to the lake's shoreline until it gave way to a cluster of pines. The sky was bright blue and slightly hazy, and the lush greens and purples contrasted starkly with the alabaster rock that dominated the landscape.

"How do you get used to that sensation?" Ranma took a deep breath – the clean air helped settle her stomach somewhat after having been twisted through another hole in reality.

"The twisting feeling?" Harry shoved his wand into his coat pocket and walked to a patch of grass nearby.

"Yeah."

"Time, practice." Harry shrugged. " I promise it gets easier."

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Beinn Tharsuinn, near Loch Crum."

Ranma just looked at her blankly.

"Scottish Highlands."

"Oh."

"If I learn nothing else, I want to learn how to teleport."

"Even if it makes you sick?"

"Especially. Damn useful, despite the drawbacks."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, it is at that. You won't be ready to learn it for a while yet, so just relax." Harry sat down on the grass and reclined, staring up into the sky. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, tension visibly draining from his body.

"So, um…" Ranma looked around. "Where are these friends of yours?"

Harry didn't open his eyes. "Relax, Ranma. They know where here, and they should be coming to get us soon."

"Should we go to them?"

"You can't. Remus likes his privacy – he has to come to you, or you can't gain entry no matter how hard you try. So, just sit down and enjoy the scenery for a bit. They'll be here shortly."

Ranma sat down, and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Care to explain?"

Harry shrugged without removing his hands from behind his head. "It's magic, of course. Some places are protected by and from magic – it keeps things out."

"Why?"

"Remember how I said not all people like those who use magic?"

"Well, even among magic users there are… bad people. People you want to protect yourself from. This is one way of doing it – by making your home impenetrable to unexpected visitors. It can't be mapped, it can't be traveled in and out of, and unless you are the owner or guided, it can't be found. It's a little inconvenient, but…"

Ranma nodded. They fell silent for a while; Ranma stared at the lake while Harry relaxed. She shrugged out of her backpack and placed it on the ground beside her and began to rummage around, pulling out a cloth wrapped bundle tied with a simple bow. She undid the knot and pulled out straight bamboo flute. She looked down the bore and gave it a few experimental puffs to clear out any lint before putting it to her lips.

"Mind if I play a little something?" She gestured at the flute.

Harry turned his head and looked. "Go right ahead."

Ranma started to play. The tune was slow and measured, with a haunting quality that mirrored that of wind blowing over a ridge. Her playing modulated softly, punctuated with occasional sharp and loud riffs that would trail off into a flowing lilt. After a few minutes she stopped playing and lowered the flute. Harry removed his hands and started to clap.

Ranma waved dismissively. "I'm terrible. I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Harry cleared his throat. "That was beautiful. I've never heard anything like that.

What was it called?"

"Yamagoe."

Harry looked at her quizzically.

"It means 'Going over the Mountain.'"

"Fitting. How long have you been playing?"

Ranma shrugged. "Not long. Only a decade or so." She smiled. "Believe it or not, I learned to play it because it was part of this fighting style I was studying…"

Harry laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. See, I've been studying what you might call… anything-goes martial arts."

"Anything goes? What does that mean?"

"It means I don't have one formal school or style – I learn to fight however and with whatever I can." She hefted the flute. "So, I was studying with this blind monk up in Northern Japan. Before he'd teach me how to use this as a weapon, I had to learn to play it."

"How long did that take?"

"Not long. Two years, maybe?"

Harry shook his head. "Not long, huh? What can you do with it?"

"Saaa…" Ranma just smiled and put the flute back to her lips. She was about to play another tune when she squinted into the distance. "Looks like your friend is here."

Harry sat up to see a tall, lean man dressed in flannel and wool pants walking across the heather with a walking stick. Harry stood, and Ranma slowly re-wrapped her flute in its bag before tucking it into her backpack and standing as well.

Harry shouted, "REMUS!" and took off down the hill at a good clip. Ranma walked slowly behind, shouldering her pack and watching as Harry embraced his friend. To Ranma, he appeared to be a man who had gone gray prematurely. The walking stick didn't quite cover his limp, and by the time he got closer, Ranma was fairly sure that his left leg was a prosthetic below the knee, especially considering how Harry's hug had thrown him slightly off balance. He was grizzled beyond gray hair – his face had a series of nasty scars and a piece of his right ear was missing.

Harry and Remus had stopped hugging by the time Ranma reached the pair. "Remus, I'd like you to meet Ranma. She's probably one of the most… unique people I've ever met." Harry beamed. "Ranma, this is Remus Lupin – an old teacher of mine way back when and a very dear friend."

Ranma extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin. I'm Ranma."

Remus shifted his weight slightly to compensate for his bad leg and took her hand. "Please, call me Remus." His eyes widened slightly as he felt the calluses on her hands. "Ranma…?"

She caught the pause. "Just Ranma." She smiled. Remus nodded, and pumped her hand one last time before letting go. He turned and began to stump down the heather towards the trees, making chitchat with the pair as they walked. They took it slowly to accommodate for Remus' leg, but even so, they soon reached the small forest and were walking under the pines when Lupin turned to look at Ranma.

"So, Ranma," Remus began, "Harry tells me that you are his new martial arts instructor and pupil of magic."

She nodded.

"And that you single-handedly subdued a vampire and pinned it to the ground."

Again, she nodded.

"If you have time, I would love to see a demonstration. I've never seen a high caliber martial artists." His eyes flicked down to take in the length of her body.

"I'm going to have to do put up with this all weekend unless I show you something, right?"

Remus grinned. "Pretty much. I promise if you show me something I'll leave you alone, but I can't speak for the rest of the crew."

Ranma shrugged. She walked over to a nearby pine tree that stood about 20 feet high and was about 8 inches in diameter, roughly the size of a telephone pole. She turned back to Remus and asked, "Do you care about this particular tree?"

"No, why?"

With that, she proceeded to embed her fingers into the trunk with a vicious openhanded strike and lifted, pulling the entire tree out of the ground, roots and all. She turned and walked back to where Lupin was standing, holding the tree effortlessly in one hand above her head. "Good, where do you want this?"

Remus worked his jaw wordlessly, trying to make sense of what he just saw.

Harry cackled. "I told you not to piss her off, Remus!"

* * *

Tonks heard a crash and walked out of the kitchen to find Remus, Harry, and a petite redhead brushing off her hands, standing around a tree that had fallen in the back yard.

"And just what do you intend to do with that tree, Remus? Is this another one of your landscaping ideas?" Tonks walked out to the trio to give Harry a hug and Remus a quick peck on the cheek before turning to Ranma. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, but everyone just calls me Tonks. And you are…?"

"Ranma. Pleasure to meet you as well." They shook. Tonks made no effort to disguise her open assessment of Ranma, so Ranma took the opportunity to commit her features to memory. Brown hair, brown eyes, patrician nose, a good four inches taller than Ranma, and thin. She wore a simple one-piece dress that was made of good quality wool that showed off her features well while providing adequate protection against the variable highland weather.

"So nice to meet you, Ranma. Why don't you come inside? I'll show you where you'll be staying for the weekend." Tonks led her towards the house. It looked like a traditional Scottish farmhouse made of stone with a peaked roof of slate shingles, unassuming and a little weather worn. It couldn't have been much larger than the little log cabin Ranma had left in the High Tatras.

Tonks opened the back door and strode inside. Ranma followed, and stopped dead in her tracks. Instead of the small cottage room she had expected, the door lead into a nicely appointed kitchen with marble counter tops and a work island. A dining table set for 14 sat off to one side, and in the distance large bay windows framed several couches arrayed around a fireplace. A low fire burnt in the over-sized hearth, filling the room to just the right temperature. Ranma frowned and stepped back outside, carefully looking at the outside of the cottage. Her eyes hadn't lied – the dimensions inside were much too large for the dimensions inside.

Tonks saw Ranma's reaction and smiled. "You like it? It's mostly Remus' doing – he had a lot of time on his hands a number of years ago, and he took up renovations as a hobby. It isn't easy magic to do convincingly but he's talented and became quite good at it. About ten years ago he made it a full time career, and he's been quite sought after because he does additions so seamlessly."

Tonks led her through the living space and past the den to set of attractive wooden stairs that led to a hall above. The upstairs was done in the same attractive décor as below, with soft wood paneling and wide fir plank floors that didn't creak. The pair walked to the end of the hall and Tonks pushed open the last door on the left. The bedroom inside was plainly decorated with an in offensive wall treatment, matching pillows and comforter on the full-sized bed. Opposite the bed, the windows looked out on a stunning view of the lake and surrounding hills. A walnut chest bound in gold sat beneath the window, and to the right of the bed sat a matching bureau with an attached mirror.

"Make yourself at home, Ranma." Tonks walked around the bed to a door next to the bureau. "This is the bathroom, and there's a closet just inside here if you need to hang anything up."

Ranma bowed slightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. It is great to have you with us. If you need anything, please just let me know." Tonks went into the closet and returned carrying a handful of towels. "If you want to take a shower or bath, here are some towels. We'll all be downstairs in the kitchen for a bit until Harry leaves to pick up his daughter. Would you care to join us?"

Ranma nodded. "I'd like that."

Downstairs, Remus and Harry were engrossed in conversation. Tonks led her to the kitchen island where they motioned her to sit on a bar stool, next to a teapot and a variety of cookies on the counter. Ranma's eyes widened just a bit as her mug sprouted legs and walked across the island to rest in front of her. The teakettle then followed and filled her mug with steaming black tea.

"Milk or sugar?" The said implements began to hover around Ranma's mug, simply waiting on a command.

Ranma shook her head. "Err…no thanks." If she hadn't known any better, Ranma would have believed the two condiments were disappointed by not being able to serve. They slinked off, bobbing about from person to person, cheerfully dishing out copious amounts of sugar or cream when asked. She looked around the kitchen as the rest of the party was served by the tea set. The walls were smooth river stone, nicely pointed with the occasional picture or sconce hanging from the wall. A wooden ceiling was high above, giving the kitchen an earthy yet spacious feel, and making the entire space feel intimate despite its rather spacious dimensions. She shook her head and muttered about magic as sat.

The four chatted amiably over their teas, by giving a little personal background information that people inevitably do when they first meet and get acquainted. Several mugs of tea were consumed, much to the delight of the condiments, before Harry glance at a pocket watch and announced it was time to pick up the "kids."

"Would you like to come, Ranma?" Harry asked. "We'll travel by a new method to get to our location." Harry stood up and walked over to the hearth.

She nodded and followed. "Where are we going and how are we getting there?"

"To Hogwarts - We travel by fire. Not quite as fast as apparating, but easier to do with a large group." Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the small fire on the grill. He briefly whispered "incendio," causing the flames to leap higher in the grill.

"Travel by fire? How do you do that?"

"By the Floo Network. Come on, I'll show you." He lifted the lid of a small silver-worked box that rested on the mantle. "This," Harry said, "is called Floo Powder." He reached into the box and took out a pinch of the glittering powder, showing it to Ranma for inspection. Harry pitched the dust into the flame, turning the fire green in the process. "After I toss this into the fire, all I have to do is simply state clearly where I'm going and step into the flame. It's that simple."

Ranma cleared her throat. "So, where are we going?"

"The Hog's Head."

"The Hog's…?" Ranma's brows furrowed.

"The Hog's Head." Harry re-affirmed. Ranma mouthed the words slowly a few times until Harry was satisfied she had it down.

Harry put his wand away and gathered up his cloak. "Ready?" Ranma nodded.

"You go first, Ranma. Say where you're going, then just step into the fire." Ranma leaned a bit into the flame and said the destination. The flames didn't respond, so with a shrug she stepped into flames. Immediately she felt herself pulled downward, spinning rapidly as flashes of other fireplaces danced in front of her eyes. After a minute the spinning suddenly stopped and Ranma felt herself pushed out onto a flagstone floor. Rather than land on her stomach she did a quick hand spring and landed on her feet but immediately began coughing as soot made it into the back of her throat.

Harry stepped out of the fire behind her. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you to keep your mouth shut. It helps with the soot." He had a bemused look on her face.

She shot him a glare as she cleared her throat and looked around. It looked similar to the pub she had seen earlier when they went to Diagon Alley, except that that the pub was filthy. The floor was covered under layers and layers of dirt, and the windows were so smeared with grime that hardly let any light was able to penetrate. The bar room was mostly empty and smelled strongly of goats. The bar keep was an anciet old man, whizend and shrunken. He tottered about, pretending to clean the bar and glasses, but most of the work was done by a surly middle-aged barback with an impressive pot belly, stained robes, and no hair.

Harry nodded to the old man. The bartender smiled brightly and waved, and made some grunting noises at the barback, who looked up and nodded. Harry turned and walked over to a booth in a corner, near the front entrance with his back to the wall. Ranma slid into the opposite side of the booth, and shortly two brown bottles landed on the table with a little froth bubbling out of the top.

Harry took a bottle and pushed the second towards Ranma. "Butterbeer."

Ranma shook her head. "Sorry, I don't drink."

Harry nodded and pushed it towards her again. "Don't worry, this stuff's non-alcoholic." He took a swig. "Tastes fantastic, too. Give it a try."

Ranma hesitantly lifted the bottle and gave it a sip. She swirled the beverage in her mouth briefly before swallowing, and gave a little nod. "Not bad. Sweeter than I'm used to, though." She put the bottle down and looked around the room. "So, where is your kid?"

Harry took a pull on the bottle before answering. "My daughter and her friends will be joining us here shortly."

Ranma shook her head. "Hell of a place to meet your kid."

Harry shrugged. "She a big girl, and the owner's a friend of mine. He'd make sure she'd stay out of trouble if I wasn't here."

"How old is she again?"

"14."

"Right… So, what's her mom do?"

"Her mother died at child birth." Harry looked at his bottle and started to peel the label off.

Ranma grimaced and muttered, "Sorry to hear that."

"Not your fault. Stuff happens and all, right?" He shrugged and tossed the shredded lable on the floor.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, but…." Ranma lifted her bottle. "Here's to going on."

Harry clinked his bottle against hers. "Cheers." A period of silence followed. Harry picked at the remains of label while the silence stretched.

Ranma spoke up first. "Still a sore point?"

Harry inclined his head a little. "Yeah, a little. I have all this power, and yet…"

"You didn't have what you needed when it counted." Ranma sighed. "I still beat myself up about that, too. You always wonder, you know, 'what if,' don't ya?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "You lost your fiancee, right?"

It was Ranma's turn to examine her bottle. "Yeah, and something else, too." She gave a mirthless laugh. "I think I've moved on, but every once in a while it jumps up and bites me in the ass."

Harry nodded. "That's the way of the world, isn't it? The past always comes back to haunt you."

"Some more than most, I think." Before she could elaborate the front door opened, and the quiet of the bar was shattered by a group of teenagers, men and women, piling in through the front door in black robes. Harry stood and walked over to the throng, wrapping a slender red-head in a crushing hug.

"Heya sweetie. How you doing?" The girl's squeals where muffled into Harry's chest, but Ranma could still make out the faint, "Dad, you're embarrassing me!" She pushed away from Harry, but not before he could tossle her hair one last time. Then, Harry turned to the group and introduced Ranma.

Ranma bowed and began to shake hands. A pair of tall, lanky red-headed identical twins pushed forward and introduced themselves first. Ranma managed to catch 'PercyNAlbus Weasely' before the strawberry blond with enchanting features introduced herself as 'Miriam Weasely. The three shrugged and mouthed 'cousins' while the next girl introduced herself as Alice Longbottom, followed in quick succession by Weylin Lupin and Serena Johnson. Harry pointed out that Weylin was the son of Tonks and Remus before introducing his daughter, Achelois.

"Everyone calls me Cheli, though." She smiled as they shook, and nodded in the direction of the rest of the group. "I know it's confusing right now, but you'll learn their names soon enough. They are all family friends." Ranma nodded and thanked her.

Harry called to the barkeep for a round of butterbeers and the group piled into the booth. Ranma grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to the end, listening as the teens chattered about the start of a new school year. The butterbeers arrived, and the teenagers each grabbed one and continued talking in the multistream flow of conversation. There was no logical flow to the conversation – it jumped forward and backwards, launched into tangents, and occassionally got completely lost as the various boys and girls spoke over each other or interjected randomly to make a point. Most of what they were saying didn't make a lot of sense to Ranma, but the words "Gryffindor" and "Quiddich" and "Slytherin" cropped up repeatedly in conversation. Harry just nodded and smiled, occasionally asking questions but for the most part content to let the teens talk themselves silly.

The first round of drinks went quickly, as did the second. The group started to lose steam by the fourth butterbeer, so Harry suggested they head over to Lupin's home, Faolfaichd. Harry settled the tab while the kids gathered around the fireplace and one by one threw floo powder into the fire and vanished.

When Ranma stepped into the flames this time, she was prepared for the sensation and managed step out of the fire on the other end a bit more gracefully than last time. The children were sprawled out around the fire, lounging on the various rug, pillows, and couches that festooned the den, eating biscuits and tea as Tonks and Lupin wandered around the room saying hello. A tray of cookies and a mug of tea floated Ranma's way. She took a simple butter cookie and the tea before sinking into one of the unoccupied chairs.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace a moment later and was promptly assualted by tea and cookies. Realizing he had an audience, he began to ham it up a bit, crying for help and sending the kids into hysterics. This continued until a tall, gangly red-headed man and a smaller woman with bushy brown hair stepped out of the fire-place. Harry ran over and gave them a hug, and proceeded to drag them over to Ranma. She stood and shook hands as Harry introducing the pair as Ron and Hermione Weasely, his best friends from school.

The pair walked over to the twins and gave them a hug before settling in. The tea tray began to frantically fly back and forth between guests, attempting to keep them stuffed with cookies and tea cups full. It soon became a game among the assembled guests to confuse the poor thing by taking a sip of tea simultaneously and guessing which person it would service. In the end it simply gave up and landed on the coffe table, giving off little pouts of steam and simply waited for someone to request tea before flying to fill a mug.

Ranma learned a lot simply by sitting back and listening – all the children's parents had gone to school together or were related in some manner, stretching back to childhood for the most part. Ranma would frequently inturrupt the conversation to ask simple background questions, which had the unintended effect of making everyone give a short biography of how they knew Harry.

Ron and Hermione's were Harry's classmates at Hogwarts, a premier school for wizardy and witchcraft. They were also the parents of Percy and Albus, the twins, who were their first born and in the fourth year of seven at the same school they had attended. Weylin was Lupin and Tonk's only child, and in the same year as Cheli. Miriam turned out to be the oldest and a cousin to the twins, the duaghter of Ron's older brother Bill and his wife, Fluer. Remus had at one point instructed Harry in magic, and Tonks worked with Harry in the same office. Alice was the child of a good friends of Harry's, while Serena was the daughter of a classmate of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's.

All in all it was entirely too much for Ranma to remember, so she contented her self with simply having a good time. After an hour or two, conversation began to peter out as the tea and sugar was processed. Tonks stood and announced that dinner wouldn't be ready for several hours yet, so the guests were welcome to retire to their rooms for a nap or wander about the grounds.

Harry stood and suggested, "Or, we could play quidditch!"

The teens cheered. The adults (except for Harry) groaned. Ramna looked around, thoroughly confused.

* * *

Ranma looked at the broom on the ground dubiously. To her left the group of teens giggled as they watched from astride their brooms. Harry rolled his eyes and said encouragingly, "Go ahead, try again."

Ranma held her arm straight out over the broom, palm facing the ground. She looked at the stick balefully and said, "UP" forcefully. The broom twiched a little but, refused to fly into her hand like she had seen happen with Harry and the rest. She scowled at the ground and then at Harry, who held up his hands in a warding guesture.

"Don't blame me," he said. "It's probably just not used to you, or something."

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma grumbled. She tried again, but this time the broom just shuddered.

"Anyway, keep trying, Ranma." Harry swung his leg over his own broom and lifted gently into the air. "You'll get it soon enough." With that, he and the rest took off towards the shore.

Ranma sighed and followed the group with her eyes. By the lake shore the trees had been cleared away, and a large oval pitch had been created. At either end of the pitch, three tall posts had been erected with large hoops on the top, facing eachother. The eight players were zooming around the pitch, tossing a red ball back and forth between them. If Ranma remembered correctly, that was the "quaffle," which had to go through one of the hoops on either end. There were also "bluddgers" and a "snitch," but of the two the bludgers sounded more interesting. Anything that decided to try and hit you sounded like good training to her.

Above her, the fliers were really getting into it, making complex patterns in the air, swooping, diving, and rolling while continuing to pass the ball back and forth between them. Ranma tried the broom one more time. The nose managed to leave the ground, but it flopped back as if firmly determined not to move again.

Behind her she heard Lupin and the other adults approaching. She turned and saw that they, too, had broomsticks over their shoulders and wore the ridiculous robes that Harry and the teenagers had donned. She waved as they stepped onto their broomsticks and took off into the air.

Ranma growled in frustration. "All right you damded devil-broom. It's just you and me, now." She put her hand out and snarled, concentrating on the broom as she spat out"UP" with as much authority as she could muster.

The broom rolled over. She grinned evilly. A loud laugh pulled her attention away from the stick and up to the pitch, where the mousey haired woman Harry had introduced as Hermione was slidding off the back of her broom. Even from a distance Harry could see that her cheeks had become red from embarrasement, even if she couldn't hear the words she was shouting. She watched for a minute in amusement as the woman attempted to reseat herself with the help of her husband, almost succedding in pulling him off his own broom in the process.

"Up!" Ranma rolled her eyes and kept trying.

* * *

Harry floated above the pitch for a bit as the players below battled for the quaffle. It was adults against children, and so far the adults were losing by a lot less than he had anticipated. Okay, Hermione never really could fly, but she was a great tactician, and between her strategies and Ron's goal keeping, they were doing alright. Harry was doing double duty as a Chaser and Seeker, since their team was two short right now.

He glance over and watched for a minute as Ranma attempted to get the broom to respond to her commands. She was doing better, but still had not managed to get the broom to leave the ground completely. When it came to brooms, Harry was a horrible instructer about anything but flying. It was so natural for him that he couldn't explain what he did, and he ended up frustrating his students. He turned back to the game. She'd get it, eventually.

* * *

It was like flexing a muscle. Granted, Ranma had never used her "magic" muscle much (if ever) before, but she was learning. Had she not been so intimately aware of every aspect of her body she never would have felt it, but it always happened when concentrating on the broom. When she vocalized the command, she had felt a faint surge of energy spike in her hand an instant before the broom would move. She than began to concentrate on the feeling, watching for it with every command to confirm that it was not her imagination.

It was different than ki- it felt like an electric shock: wild, uncontrolled, and worst of all, originating from some location in her body that she was unable to trace. It didn't flow like ki – it simply appeared, or jumped around. She concentrated on feeling how it moved in her body – trying to determine the channels that it traveled through her body, how it moved, and how strong this new force was.

The broom had long since jumped into her waiting hand, but she would simply drop it and command it again, intent not on stick but on her own body.

"Up!"

"Up!"

"Up!"

Without fail, the feeling would spike and then the broom would move, so close together as to be almost indescernable. She smiled. She could work with this.

* * *

The Gryffindors put away the quiddich implements while the adults flew to the house to get cleaned up for dinner. Harry flew over to collect Ranma, and watched with some puzzlement as she ordered the broom into her hand and released it over and over. He flew closer.

"How're ya doing?" He nodded at the broom.

She smiled. "Great." The broom dropped out of her hand to the ground. "I'm getting the hang of this."

"It does more than just hop up and down. You want to learn to fly it?"

Her smile turned into a full blown grin. "Definitely."

Harry floated over to her side, placing both feet on the ground. "Okay, command the broom to your hand." The broom flew into Ranma's hands. Harry started.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make it fly into your hand without saying anything?"

She shrugged. "I just concentrated, like you told me. Once I could feel it, I didn't have to say anything." She tightened her grip on the shaft. "It knew what I wanted it to do. Why?"

Harry chewed his lips and stored the thought away for later. "Tell you later. Anyway, straddle the broom," he indicated his position, "like so. Good. Now, very gently, push off the ground with your feet." Harry watched as Ranma slowly rose into the air and drifted a few feet forward.

"Great! Now, to fly you simply fix it in your mind that the broom will go where you tell it to. As long as you hold on to the shaft, it won't let you fall." Harry flew alongside her and matched her speed. "Think of the broom as a mix between a bicycle and an extension of your body. You can fly it by shifting your body weight. The more you relaxed and natural you are on the broom, the more responsive it will be. Got it?"

"So, if I want to go up, I…?" Ranma asked.

"Lean forward and tilt the broom handle in the direction you want to head." Harry demonstarted and watched as she replicated the move easily.

"Try this, then." Harry rose into the air, banked left and dove, stopping just short of the ground. He turned to see Ranma finishing the move right behind him. He chuckled. "Seems like you might be a natural. Care to test it out?"

"You're on!" Ranma grinned.

"Great – then catch me if you can!" With that, Harry zoomed off over the lake, low as possible against the broom in an attempt to squeeze out every ounce of speed. He glaced back to see Ranma only ten feet behind him, flying in in the wake he had created in the water, slowly gaining on him by minimizing her air resistance. He grinned and shot straight up into the air, completely perpendicular to the surface of the water. His grin was became larger when he noticed she had some how managed to follow. Soon, the pair was twisting and turning above the lake as Harry attempted to shake her off his tail.

Harry plunged towards the shoreline, heading into the trees close to the ground. A glance back confirmed that Ranma had followed. He began weaving in and out of the trees coming periously close to the trunks as he looped through and around trees. He saw a shaft of light through the boughs and climbed straight up, instantly checking his momentum the moment he cleared the trees and hovered above the tops. A moment later, Ranma came bursting out of the trees and over shot him, stopping nearly twenty feet above head.

She burst out laughing. Her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed, but her laugh was one of pure delight. She floated down towards him.

"Thanks. That was fun."

"No worries. Been a while since I've had anyone who could keep up with me." Harry pointed over to where a small whisp of smoke was rising through the trees some miles away. "Dinner?"

"Sure." Ranma touched him on the shoulder briefly. "Tag, your it!" With a laugh, she plunged back under the tree tops and sped away. Harry grinned and followed.

* * *

Harry climbed off his broom to find Ranma already sitting at the kitchen counter sharing a cup of tea with the adults. He put his broom in the closet and joined them. Dinner was served shortly after, and the seven children and five adults piled around the ornately set table. Remus said some short words of welcome the the assembled guests and the feast appeared on the plates. Ranma gasped and then laughed, and began to dig in with gusto equal to any of the children present.

Curiosity eventually won out over food, and the guests began to ask Ranma about her past. She told them how she had grown up traveling around Japan and China studying martial arts until she was a teenager, and how she had spent nearly the last twenty years traveling the world in search of unique and worthwhile fighting styles. She spun tales about the weird magical creatures she had seen (and fought), much to the amusement of the children and the consternation of Tonks and Harry, the two Aurors.

Between tales, desserts appeared along with a choice of tea or coffee. The conversation then turned to quiddich. Ranma quickly understood why the adults had groaned earlier in the evening when the topic had been broached – Harry was even more fanatical than the children and it soon became clear that little else would be talked about over the next couple of days. Still, it was pleasant for Ranma just to listen as more and more of the conversation began to make sense.

Conversation began to peter out amidts yawns and bleary eyes. Remus and Tonks stood and began to show guests to their rooms. Ranma made her own way to the room she had been shown to earlier. She shut the door, removed her clothes, and remembered no more once her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Thanks to the readers and reviewers. Re-posted to fix the marital/martial typos that keep occuring - I'm recently married myself and now understand how this happens:)

Reviews are meant to be a tool to help a writer improve. I find reviews that just ask an obvious question to be less than helpful. For example, "Why is Ranma a girl?" or"Why is Harry sad?" do nothing to help me develop the story, although I do appreciate that you took the time to read the story. I'm using these characters my own way, and I fully intend to answer the obvious questions in time. Now is not that time. Other, more thoughtful reviews and lines of questioning will get a response and do help me think about and develop the story further. I have the complete outline and plot of the story developed, but that does not mean I can't incorporate useful ideas or tangents as they occur. I learned from my last effort, "The Four Truths," that having an overall design improved the final product.

Again, thanks for reading this far and for the reviews. Hopefully chapter 4 won't taketoo long to write.

Muishiki


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own these characters, yada yada. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4.

The sun hadn't risen yet when she awoke. Ranma dressed and grabbed a towel from the bathroom, silently leaving the house to go to the lake. In the false dawn some stars where visible, but the lake was still as she stripped and slid into the icy water. She started off across the lake, swimming in long fluid strokes until she had crossed the lake and headed back, swimming laps. She was reminded, as always, by the cold water, of the past and of her curse.

Born a man, Ramna lost her manhood at the cursed pools of Jusenkyo when she was sixteen. Her father, the irresponsible man he was, thought it would be a good training ground. Life had changed forever at that point. Cursed to change gender with hot or cold water, Ranma had rapidly lost control of her life. Of course, she never would have become as good in the Art if not for that unfortunate event. She – no- HE, had lost his fiancée during the cataclysmic battle high atop the mountains in Jusenkyo. He hadn't been able to defeat the demi-god Saffron, the immortal Phoenix King, fast enough to save her. Lost in her thoughts, she flowed through the water as she tried to remember what it felt like to be a man.

She gave up soon, however. Ranma was… Ranma – her gender didn't matter anymore. Akane was… gone. The wound had scabbed over, but the cold remained. The cold… It was a friend now, but sometimes Ranma wondered if she would ever be warm again.

Maybe one day. Perhaps she might look for a… No. If it came, it came, but until then she wouldn't spend any more time obsessing. She was happy, for now at least. She had made what peace she could with her failure. Akane was dead, and Ranma, the man among men, Heir to the Saotome School of indiscriminate grappling joined her in the grave.

Ranma gave herself a mental shake. To distract herself, she began to concentrate on feeling the vortexes of water as they swirled around her body, allowing a little of her ki to infuse the space created by the turbulence in the water. She used her ki to reverse the swirls and keep the water flowing around her skin as if she didn't present an obstacle. As the turbulence lessened, her speed increased, until she was slipping through the water with practically no friction. It was a tough training excersice to balance minimal ki exertion with maximum efficiency, and she tried to do it as often as possible.

She stopped when the sun came up an hour later, taking a few moments to stand naked in the early morning sun and tried to enjoy the feeling radiant energy on her body. She didn't really expect to feel anything, but she was always optimistic. She dried off slowly with the towl before dressing and heading back into the house. It was time to train, but now that she had a student… Ideas percolated in her head, but first it was time to eat and see if Harry was awake.

* * *

When Ranma walked into the kitchen, Harry was sitting at the kitchen island, elbows propped on the counter and staring blearily into a cup of tea he held in both hands. He half-heartedly acknowledged her presence, managing a non-descript grunt and a sleepy nod. Ranma closed the door and pulled up a stool to the counter. 

"Cheery in the mornings, aren't you?" Ranma reached towards the center of the island and grabbed an orange from the fruit basket.

Harry just grunted and wrinkled his nose.

"You ready to start you martial arts training?"

Harry collapsed forward onto the counter and let out a pained groan.

"You signed up for it, and I take my responsiblities seriously." She peeled the orange, saying, "Scarf a little breakfast and change into some comfortable workout clothes, 'cause you and me start training today."

She placed the peeled fruit in front of Harry and grabbed a second one. "This will be your only warning. Don't be late to a class." She smiled unpleasantly. "I promise – you'll only be late once. Better you don't find out why." She rapidly peeled the second and got up from the island, depositing the peels in the trash.

"I'll see you down by the lake in 15 minutes. Don't be late." She turned around and walked out through the back door.

* * *

Ranma watched in amusement as Harry stumbled down towards the water, nearly 20 minutes after she had warned him about practice. He was wearing a ratty pair of sweat pants and a stained T-shirt, the logo of which had been washed away from heavy use. Ranma didn't often think fondly about her father, but just this once she smiled as she began thinking about the various tortures she could use to punish her new pupil. Ranma didn't say anything until Harry was standing in front of her, his eyes watering from the early morning sun. 

"You're late."

Harry shrugged. "Sorry."

"You will be shortly. Take off your shoes, please."

Harry looked at her quizzically.

"Shoes. Off. Now." Ranma allowed a little ki to permeate her voice, which made her sound like she was talking into a PA system.

Harry blinked and bent over to unlace his trainers.

"First, Harry, we must establish a few rules." Ranma clasped her hands behind her back. "You will call me Sensei. You will obey every command to the best of your ability during training sessions. Training starts at sun up, and lasts until you either have to go to work or I decide you've had enough."

Harry finished taking off his shoes and stood up straight again, holding them in his hand.

"Do you understand?"

Harry nodded in response to her question.

"I fully expect you to be as strict with teaching magic as I am with martial arts. I also will not allow you to quit. Do you understand?"

This time, Harry gulped before nodding.

"Good. Now, we run. Follow my path as closely as you are capable. Absolutely no magic, understood?"

"Got it."

Ranma took off her own shoes and stepped into the water. She infused the bottom of her feet with small amounts of ki, lightly resting on the bottom of the lake. She looked back at Harry, who still hadn't moved.

"Well?" She raised an eyebrow.

Harry gingerly stepped into the lake and immediately made a face of disgust as his feet sank three inches into the mud.

"Follow me." Ranma took off lightly around the lake, not bothering to look back. From the splashing and cursing she heard Harry was struggling to run through the mud. A few minutes into it, she almost giggled as she heard Harry stumble and fall face first into the lake.

They ran like this for 20 minutes. Ranma stepped onto dry land and turned back to watch as Harry heaved himself onto the bank, dripping wet, covered in mud, and panting heavily.

"Now that we've warmed up." She stood to Harry's left. "Follow me. Today we learn basic Karate. I'm going to teach you ten series of moves, known as Kata. Each starts from a _position_." Ranma took relaxed stance; her arms bent at 90 degree angles at her sides, her head back and back straight. "First position." She waited for Harry to copy her. "Good. I'm going to run through them once, and then you will do it. I'll answer questions after you've tried it. Master these ten basic sequences, and you'll be taking the first step on the road to being a martial artist."

"Ready?"

Harry was still breathing hard, but was able to at least do a credible imitation of her posture.

"Ichi!" She did a quarter turn to her left, bringing her hands up to a guard position in front of her face, her hands relaxed and fingers lightly spread. From there she moved rapidly, taking one step back.

"Ni!" She stepped forward and unleashed a quick combo of straight punches.

"San!"

In rapid succession, she ran through the first 10 kata before stopping and turning to face Harry.

"Got it?"

"No!"

"Good – now run them solo."

"Ich!" Ranma counted off and watched as Harry muddled his way through each kata, stumbling badly and completely unaware of what to do.

"Good. Now, we run them again. Follow me again– I'm going to mirror you, and we're going to take it slow and concentrate on form."

* * *

Tonks, Lupin, and several of the children were just preparing breakfast when Harry stumbled through the kitchen door two hours later, completely exhausted. The occupants of the kitchen gasped when they saw him - his sweats were soaked and covered with mud. Oddly enough, his trainers were still pristine. Ranma closed the door behind him, a picture in contrast. 

Lupin stared at Harry and dropped the eggs he was holding to the floor. Nobody spoke for a couple of moments until Cheli exclaimed, "Oh My GOD! Dad! What happened?"

Ranma cleared her throat, causing everyone to look at her. "I did, actually. He had his first training session today. I think he has some potential."

Cheli shot Ranma a dirty look before quickly leading Harry away upstairs to clean up. Everyone watched as Harry pathetically staggered away, supported in part by his daughter as they navigated the stairs.

Lupin turned back and asked, "Why's he so dirty?"

Ranma shrugged. "His balance is terrible." Ranma cocked her head as she heard a squeal and a burst of laughter from upstairs. The question on her face must have been apparent.

Lupin smirked. "Tonks must have seen him."

Ranma mouthed a silent "oh" and nodded. "So, can I help cook breakfast?"

* * *

The kitchen got back to normal fairly quickly with Ranma helping. By the time Harry limped into the kitchen with Cheli twenty minutes later, breakfast had been made and the rest of the guests gathered around the long table in the living room. Harry sat in the middle of the table across from Ranma. Cheli and the children filled up the right half of the table while the adults filled in the other end, concentrating on talking to each other and ignoring the louder teenagers at the other end. 

Harry was badgered with questions from both ends. He answered with as best as he was capable, but it was apparent he was about to face plant into his food. His daughter hovered next to him and shot murderous glares at Ranma when ever Harry described the work out – particularly the bit about running in the mud.

This amused everyone even more. Ranma didn't smirk, but she was clearly amused. She tried to hide her smiles between bites of a full English fry-up, consisting of eggs, bacon, several types of sausages, fried breads, and other savory bits. She dug in with gusto, enjoying the taste of a meal she didn't have to catch and kill for once. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, even if it was at Harry's expense for the moment.

Cheli sniffed. "You must get a real thrill out of beating up on people, Ranma."

The level of conversation dropped a little as the adults heard Cheli's tone of voice and listened with interest

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"It's seems obvious to me." She touched her dad's shoulder, causing him to nearly topple from his chair before she caught him. "He barely has the energy to sit up." Her eyes narrowed as she started right at Ranma.

Ranma shrugged. "Your father is tired. He had a very strenuous work out."

"Because you forced him to do it." Cheli looked up at her dad, who had slouched in his chair to make it easier to sleep.

"I forced him to do nothing. He just has good work ethics."

Tonks chimed in at that point. "That is true. He has a stubborn streak a mile wide, and that means he tends to go overboard when he wants to learn something." Tonks smirked at Ranma. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Cheli. If I know Harry, he'll make sure that Ranma gets what's coming to her when she tries to learn magic."

Ranma swallowed a bit of kippers and nodded. "I'd expect no less." She motioned pointed at the now sleeping Harry with a bit of buttered toast. "He did much better than I expected. I didn't go easy on him, and he didn't complain. I hope to hold up half as well when it is my turn."

Cheli just snorted and forcefully stabbed a bit of sausage before viciously stuffing it in her mouth and chewing. "I don't see why anyone would want to learn how to hit someone. Seems like a waste when you can use magic."

Ranma leaned forward and place her elbows on the table. "What about the times you can't use magic?"

She shrugged dismissively. "Like that ever happens."

Lupin cleared his throat. "Actually, it happens a lot more often that we'd like to admit."

Cheli ignored Lupin and concentrated on her food.

"I know a little bit about what your father does for a living, Cheli." Ranma leaned back, carefully choosing her words. "I think you, of all people, would appreciate it if I taught him something that might keep him alive to come home."

Cheli slammed her silverware on the table and stood up suddenly, toppling over her chair in the process. Harry started awake at the noise, blinking owlishly up at his daughter.

"You don't know anything about my father," she said quietly, "and you don't know anything about what he's been through." She stood up a bit straighter. "He didn't need your wimpy little skills to beat Voldemort, and he certainly doesn't need them now." She turned on her heels and stalked away. By the time she got to the stairs she was in a dead run. Silence reigned as everyone listened to her footsteps as she ran down the hall and into the room she was staying.

Harry blinked a few more times and looked at Cheli's plate. "What did I miss?"

* * *

Ranma sat by the lake shore on a stone, her flute cradled in her lap as she examined the wand she had bought from Ollivander's. She held it like she had been shown, trying to summon the same feeling she experienced when she first touched it. It had been like… like that time she had kissed Akane. She blushed to think of it, but the exhilaration and heightened sense of awareness could only be compared to when she was locked in combat or… that other thing. She smirked. Of the two, she'd had a whole lot more combat than anything else. 

She put the wand back in the box and picked up her flute. She closed her eyes slightly and breathed in, exhaling the air and centering herself. She brought the instrument to her lips and played, trying to recreate in sound the way the light played across the lake as the sun rose. She allowed her senses to roam and tried to incorporate the various elements they encountered to be added to her music.

An out of balance element entered her music and her flute screeched in protest. She lowered her flute and quickly stood, turning to watch as Harry corralled Cheli towards the lake with one hand on her shoulder. When they got within hearing distance Ranma called out, "Hi Cheli. Hello, Harry." She lightly hopped off the rock and strode to meet them.

When they were face to face Ranma immediately bowed to the younger woman. "Forgive me. I did not mean to upset you so, and I regret having done it."

Surprise registered on her face before glancing up at her dad and licking her lips. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Uh... Uhm... I'm sorry too, Ranma," She stammered, clearly embarrassed. Once again she looked up at her dad who rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I'll see you later, then?" With that, Cheli wormed out of his embrace and immediately headed back to the house.

Harry chewed his lip as he watched her leave. When she was back inside he turned his attention to Ranma.

"Good. You have your wand. Ready to start some practice?"

Ranma nodded. "I'm surprised you're up so quickly."

"Thanks to Tonks. She let me nap a bit and did a simple restorative charm on me. It got rid of some of the fatigue and soreness, but I still feel like I ran two hours through mud." He grinned. Without waiting, he headed down to the rock Ranma had just been on. Once there, he pulled out two items – a candle and a pin cushion. He placed these items in the center of the stone and sat down, and motioned for Ranma to join him.

"I hope you've been reading those spell books we bought for you, Ranma."

She sheepishly grinned and played with the base of her pigtail.

"Oh dear," Harry said melodramatically, "then I'm afraid this might be rather difficult." With a grin, he gestured to the items. "I want you to do this in exactly the order I'm about to show you. Magic requires total concentration. If you get frustrated, relax and try again, but above all, stay focused."

He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the candle. "First." Clearly and slowly, he said, "_Wingardium Leviosa_." With a small flick of his wrist, the candle rose 6 inches off the ground and hovered vertically.

"Next." Again, with the same precision, he said, "_Incindio_" and lit the wick of the candle on fire. "Now, pay attention." The flame proceeded to change colors, from blue to green, green to yellow, yellow to red, and then back to the original color. The candle remained suspended in the air burning while Harry turned to the pincushion. Suddenly, it changed into a hedgehog and immediately sprinted away from the pair. With a quiet, "_Petrificus Totalus_" the animal stopped dead in its tracks. Harry flicked his wand and muttered, "_Accio,_" and the animal came flying back to his hand, once again a pin cushion. Then, he turned to the candle and extinguished the flame with a simple air spell before letting it drop back to the stone. Not quite done, he muttered, "_reparo,_" and the candle returned to it original form.

Harry smirked. "10 simple spells as repayment for 10 simple katas. In these ten elements are the fundamentals of magic except for potion brewing. We will do that later. Master these and you can progress as fast as you can learn."

Ranma licked her lips. "Uh… Could you just run through that one more time?"

Harry nodded and did so. The whole chain of events took him less than 20 seconds to complete.

Ranma picked up her wand and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing… _Wingardium Leviosa!_"

* * *

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _

Harry watched in amusement as the candle sailed off into the sky once again.

"Calm, Ranma."

She almost snarled at him.

"It's the same as flying the broom."

"Like hell it is!"

He held out one hand in a defensive posture and pulled out another candle from his pocket. "Less power, more focus. Make the candle know what you want it to do as you say the words." The previous candle splashed down into the lake. He retrieved it with a simple summoning spell and placed it into his pocket.

Ranma took two deep breaths and released some of her frustration. Two hours of this and she hadn't even gotten the first move of the sequence.

"You're a strange case, Ranma. Most people can't lift the candle at all. Sending it flying is pretty rare."

"Glad I'm amusing."

"You are. Try again."

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Splash.

"ARRRRRG!"

* * *

Sometime later, Ranma, Harry, and Cheli were being escorted through the forest back to the place where they had arrived two days before. Cheli tried to be inconspicuous where possible, avoiding an extremely irate Ranma who was attempting to levitate a leaf on her palm as they walked. 

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The leaf sailed off into the sky. Ranma's nostrils flared.

"Calm, Ranma. Calm."

Ranma took a deep breath and relaxed. "Got it."

"Lupin, you'll get the other kids to Hogwart's?"

"Tonks is arranging for a portkey now. They'll be back in time for dinner."

"Thanks again, Lupin."

He simply nodded. He was about to respond when he was interrupted by Ranma. She was pointing a lone pine tree towards the edge of the forest. "Lupin, do you have anything planned for that tree?" She put her wand away and concentrated on the trees around her for a second.

He looked over his shoulder at her as they walked. "No, why?"

"I'm feeling incredibly violent right now, and I need to destroy something."

"Ah… Right. Just make sure you angle it away from the house, then."

Ranma smiled and winked. "Got it." She took a stance in front of a young pine and took a deep breath. Ranma paused. "You guys might want to back up a bit."

Harry and Lupin pulled Cheli further back and looked on in interest – Cheli just rolled her eyes.

"Harry?"

"Yah, Ranma?"

She smirked. "Ichi!" She took the first position she showed Harry that morning.

Nobody saw her move. One second she was standing there, and the next thing they knew the tree she had been standing in front of vanished. A resounding crack was heard, and a cloud of dust welled up as the scenery suddenly changed. Nothing remained of the tree but a few roots sticking out of the ground and some falling leaves. A large furrow nearly twent feet long and five feet deep marred the land.

She sighed.

"Much better." She bent down and picked up a small stone and placed it on her palm. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ It hovered there a few inches above her hand. "Hey, look at that! I did it!"

The other three just stared wide eyed at the girl as she cheered herself on.

Cheli pulled on Harry's sleeve. "Dad… Did she just…"

Harry nodded vigorously. "Yeap."

"Oh." She gulped. "Right, then."

They marched back to the hilltop silently – Ranma was in too good a mood to notice how much space they suddenly gave her.

After a quick goodbye to Lupin, Harry took hold of his daughter's hand and Ranma's arm. With a quick flash they vanished.

Lupin just shook his head. He limped back to the crater Ranma created and tried to repair the damage she had done with little effect. What had Harry gotten himself into now?

* * *

They popped into existence in front of "The Hog's Head in Hogsmead Village. 

Ranma looked around a bit. "Isn't this where we picked up those kids?"

Harry nodded. "If you'll just give me a couple moments, Ranma, I want to talk to my daughter alone."

"Sure." Ranma pulled out his wand and the stone, and immediately set to practicing.

Harry pulled Cheli inside the pub and grabbed a booth. As soon as they were sitting, Cheli burst out, "Dad, I can't leave you with her! She's some sort of super-powered homicidal maniac! She'll kill you!"

"Shh.. Keep your voice down. I thought you said martial arts were harmless."

"That's before I saw She-ra over there take out a huge fucking swath of forest!"

"Hey! Watch your mouth, young lady, or I'll make you unable to talk for a week!"

She had the grace to look sheepish, at least. "I'm sorry. She really creeps me out. I mean it. She's some sort of super-powered crazy freak. Who knows when she's going to go berserker and level this place?"

"Ranma's harmless, Cheli." Silently, Harry prayed it was true.

"But daaaad…"

"Sorry, kiddo. You're going back to school, and your going to learn to watch your mouth. Got it?"

"Yes."

Harry pulled her into a hug "I want you to be good at school, okay? Try not to get into anymore fights. You know the headmistress is getting old."

"It's not like I start them, dad. It's just those bullies piss me off when they pick on the weaker kids. I have to do something about it."

"And it usually lands you in a big pile of trouble."

Cheli frowned. "Yah it does."

Harry grinned at her and ruffled her hair. "Just don't get caught next time." He pulled a piece of aged parchment out of his robe and handed it over to her. "I think you're old enough to have this now."

She took it gingerly and looked at him curiously. She unrolled it to reveal that it was blank. "What's this?"

"A secret. Promise you'll not reveal it to anyone unless you can trust them with your life. Even then, I'd make sure they take a blood oath or something equally binding."

Cheli raised her eyes and almost dropped the scroll. "What's it do?"

Harry smirked. "Watch." He pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, then whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Cheli watched in amazement as the Hogwart's grounds were revealed. Harry tapped the map again with his wand and said, "Mischief managed." It went blank.

"Dad… is this…"

He nodded. "The Marauder's Map. It's a family heirloom, of sorts." He took it from her and rolled it up. "It will do you more good than me – just don't lose it." He handed it back to her. "You might want to find some really clever and _secure_ way to hide it from people. You'll be tempted to use it a lot – just don't get caught with it, okay?"

She practically glowed. She got up from the bench and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, dad. You're the best."

He ruffled her hair again and hugged her back. "I've got to get going soon, okay? Can you make it back without me?"

She nodded. "When can you visit again? I miss you."

He scrubbed his face with his hands. "Sooner than you realize." He chuckled.

She knitted her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"I'll tell you later, Cheli. Let's go.

They exited the pub to see Ranma squatting on her haunches staring intently at the levitating candle before her. Cheli hugged her dad one more time before heading off, looking back in concern at her father. Ranma was still staring intently at the candle, her wand held rigidly before her. She quietly said, "_incindio,_" and blinked in surprise as a small fireball erupted, singeing her eyebrows.

Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ah, Ranma?"

"Yes Harry?"

"New Rule – No magic unless supervised, okay? If you want to learn more, read the books I bought you."

"But books are boring," she replied sounding like a whiney little teenager.

"They might be, but you need to read them. No more magic tonight, okay?"

"Fine," Ranma pouted. She stood and swayed unsteadily. "Woah… that was weird."

"Hmm?"

"I just got really tired." Ranma looked confused.

"Oh, that's probably the effects of attempting to channel so much magic in one day. You need to pace yourself. It's like a muscle. You'll get sore the first couple of times you use it, but the more you use it the easier it becomes."

Ranma nodded. "Ah, got it."

"No more magic, Ranma. I mean it. I'll know, and I won't be happy."

"Okay, Okay… Sheesh." She stuffed her wand in her pocket and re-adjusted the straps to her backpack. "Where to now?"

"My place – I'll put you up for a night or two until we can figure out where you're going to stay." Harry grabbed Ranma's pro-offered forearm and ported them to his flat.

* * *

Ranma was impressed. "Nice place." She looked around. 

It was quite a bit larger than she was expecting. The ceilings were nearly 12 feet tall, and except for the kitchen off to one side, almost completely open with hard wood floors. The kitchen was done in a pleasing and unobtrusive manner – it looked well used but clean. There was a hallway across from the front entrance with several doors on each side.

Ranma followed Harry as he led her down the back of the hall. He stopped by the last door on the right and opened it.

"You can stay here for now. This is the guest bedroom."

"How many bedrooms does this place have?"

"Only four on this level."

"On this level?"

Harry shrugged. "I own the building. I kept the top floor for myself, and I rent out the apartments on the floors below. Unlike most wizards, I live with non-magical people. I just really liked the location."

"Gotcha." Ranma gave him the thumbs up. The guest bedroom was good sized – much larger than the little cabin she just left. She dropped her bag on the floor and turned around. "So, where are we going to practice, anyway? We need some sort of out door environment or a place you don't mind gets banged around a bit."

Harry chewed his lip as he thought. "Well… I do own this one place I really never use…"

"Would you be willing to practice in it?"

"It would need a lot of work."

Ranma held up a bicep and flexed. "I'm good for it."

"Alright, just give me a minute to gather some things." Harry turned and left, walking into the room across the hall. A few minutes later he came back, wearing a pair of old jeans and sneakers.

"So, you want to see the old haunt?" When Ranma nodded, Harry took hold of her arm and teleported them in a flash of light.

* * *

They were ported to a dark square with a fountain, surrounded by shabby London row houses. Harry pulled a set of keys from his pocket and found a long iron skeleton key. He drew a circle with it in midair, and a lock suddenly appeared where he drew the circle. Harry inserted the key and twisted – both the keys and the lock vanished in a puff of smoke. 

Harry walked forward and stepped onto the grass between the two shabby row houses. A cracked sidewalk suddenly appeared in grass in front of him. Ranma watched in amazement as a dirty Second Empire style house suddenly sprang up between the houses and expanded, moving them out of the way. It was dirty and unkempt, with singles missing and grimy windows. It hadn't been painted in decades, if not longer, and all the paint was peeling off the wooden clapboards.

The walk led to a battered, black-painted door with a silver knocker in the shape of a twisted serpent; there was neither a keyhole nor letterbox.

Harry sighed as he looked at the house. "I'm sorry it isn't much to look at. I own it, but I haven't been here in a long time."

Ranma just shrugged. "Looks like a house I saw on a TV show once."

"The Addams Family?"

"Yeah, that one."

Harry gave her a lopsided grin. "I get that a lot." He walked up to the front door and turned. "Be really quiet when we go in – otherwise you might wake up Granny." Harry carefully opened the bolt back to 12 Grimmauld place.

Inside was as bad as the outside. It was dusty and full of cobwebs. The entrance hall was a large room with badly peeling wallpaper, threadbare carpets, gas lamps, and a serpent shaped candelabra covered in cobwebs hanging halfway down the hall. It was dimly lit and crowded by a grand staircase that had seen better days. Covered portraits hung on both walls. A giant umbrella stand that looked like an elephant's foot made the hall feel even more crowded.

"Troll's foot," Harry whispered. "Okay, follow me." He tiptoed into the interior, gently brushing cobwebs aside as he made is way into the building. Once they got through the hall they were in the kitchen. It was just as dimly lit and dusty, but at least it didn't have the same ominous feeling as the entrance.

Harry spread his hands. "This is it. What do you think?"

Ranma shrugged. "Depends on what you want to do with it."

"Whatever you like. I hate this place – I only keep it because nobody wants it."

Ranma cracked her knuckles and said, "I can rip this whole place apart and turn it into a Dojo in no time." She looked around at the sheet covered appliances and furniture. "Do you want any of this stuff?"

He shook his head. "The things I want I've already cleared out of here. Do what you want with them."

Ranma nodded. "Cool. When can I start?"

"Does tomorrow work?"

She nodded and they worked their way quietly back outside. Harry closed the front door behind them and stood on the stoop with Ranma.

"How would I find my way here again?"

Harry pulled out his wand and a piece of parchment paper. He tapped the paper once and Ranma watched as a map of London appeared. A bright red arrow signaled their current location. Harry spoke a few words and a dotted line began to crawl across the map from Grimmauld place to Harry's current apartment. All in all the distance was about twelve miles.

"I'll arrange a port key to take you back and forth between the apartment and here if you want," Harry said.

"No worries. I'll just run – I could use the exercise."

Harry gave her a flat-lidded glare. "Let's go get some food. I'm exhausted and hungry."

"Deal. Don't forget you have practice with me tomorrow morning at sunrise."

Harry groaned.

* * *

Thanks for reading. A few comments for those enjoying it so far. 

Comments and criticism welcome – constructive criticism especially welcome.

Thanks for catching the marital/martial mishaps – I'm a fast typist, and while I do proof before posting, you can become too familiar with your own stuff to catch minor typos like that. I'm sure there are others buried in the text as well.

Great review by Silence-Darkness. Others have contributed good reviews as well -thank you for your time and effort. S-D's review is a good example ofwhat I find really helpful as awriter –constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement. I might not agree with the poster's viewpoint, but I really appreciate it. I can't help it if you might not like my writing style for this particular work. It is a creative piece intending mostly to improve my dialog skills. My last lengthy work involved much less dialog. What details are necessary are subjective – I like to bury subtle clues in my stories about what ultimately motivates characters. Rather than out right tell you, I find a story (personally) to be more fun if it involves identifying with and thinking like the people you are reading about. Am I doing a good job of that? I don't know. I do know that you can never truly know another character's motives - you have to take their actions and their words into account and make a judgement based on what you see. Just like in real life.

All art is derivative. Nothing is original. However, this particular fic was not 'inspired' by anything I read – I simply noticed a lack of good Ranma/Harry Potter cross-over fics and have tried to do a few. They are surprisingly hard - the few really good ones I've seen don't intergrate the story lines (nearly impossible), they simply overlap briefly before going their respective ways.This is the first idea I felt could really stand up to the books, and can also stand up to what comes in the seventh and final book, regardless of how it turns out (unless Harry dies, of course).

This is a creative diversion for me. It is fun to receive reviews, but I'm practicing for writing my own books. So again, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is really, really appreciated. For me, most of the fun is in researching the materials I will use to incorporate into the story. I do take good ideas and comments into consideration while writing, but I have the entire story arc mapped out. Short of some flash of inspiration that will make me change it (like what happened with this chapter), it should end up roughly where I imagine it at around 150K words or so. Who knows?

Thanks again for reading.

Muishiki

P.S. - for those who enjoy this, try out "The Four Truths." That's one of one of my first large Ranma fic works, and it seems to be generally well recieved.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ranma looked at the clock. 5:05 A.M. Perfect. With a grin, she got out of bed and put on her normal clothes – a set of black Chinese kung fu pants and a red silk shirt. She opened the door to her room and walked silently to living room. Ranma evaluated it for a few seconds before moving the furniture to the corners of the room, creating a large open space on the hardwood floor. She rolled up the rug and put it on top of the furniture. Stepping back, she admired her handiwork for a couple seconds before heading into the kitchen.

Once there, she opened a few cabinets until she found what she was looking for – a plastic pitcher. She filled it three-quarters full tap water and walked back down the hall. Briefly, she stuck her pinky in the water and gave it a quick stir: channeling ki through her pinky she sucked all the energy out of the water, causing the temperature to drop dramatically as she did so. Once a thin coat of ice formed on the top, she pulled her finger out and opened the door to Harry's room.

She almost felt bad for what she was about to do. Almost. It was still only about 5:15, so Ranma looked around the room as she made her way over to the king sized bed. The room was decorated much like the guest room she was in. It was simple with ample light, as three large bay windows were imbedded in both the southern and western walls of exposed brick. Harry's bed was against the west wall and opposite the master bath and closet. Harry was sprawled out on the left side of the bed, soundly asleep as the false dawn began to break through the windows. Checking to make sure the ice was still firmly in place, she pulled out her wand and walked over to the bed.

She muttered, "_Wingardium Leviosa,_" and soon the pitcher was levitating above Harry's head, turned horizontally so the water would pour out as the ice melted. She watched for a few moments to make sure it was going to stay in place and gave a small satisfied nod. She left the room returned to the living room and sat in the middle. She calmly closed her eyes and began to meditate.

She smirked a few seconds later when Harry's scream ripped through the house.

* * *

Harry bolted upright and hit his head on the suspended pitcher above the bed. He groaned and rubbed his scar as he lay there shivering, covered in ice water. He flailed at the night stand and grabbed his glasses and wand.

"The bitch must die."

He smiled grimly to himself at the reference and got out of bed. Wand out, the door to his room was ripped from its hinges and floated to rest against the wall with only a glance. Opposite Harry's room, the door to Ranma's room was blown off its hinges, but she wasn't there. Harry stalked down the hall to see her sitting serenely in the middle of the living room. He raised his wand and prepared to hex her good when suddenly she vanished.

Harry gasped in shock as Ranma reappeared next to him and applied a crushing grip on his wrist, forcing him to drop his wand. She caught it with the top of her foot and flipped it up to her free hand.

"You will use no magic during our morning sessions." With that, she twisted and Harry found himself on his back, staring at the ceiling. He jumped to his feet, only to find a punch waiting for him.

For the next two hours he was tripped, pulled off balance, tossed, and generally abused. With each maneuver Ranma pulled, she explained what she was doing and how, pointing out what he was doing that made him vulnerable and correcting his mistakes as he went along.

At the end of the session, they ran through the kata he had learned earlier several times before Ranma had him sit in the floor and stretch. This was almost as painful as the sparring, considering it had been years since he could touch his toes.

Ranma pulled him to his feet. "Good job, Harry." She patted him on the back, causing his knees to buckle. "Oops."

* * *

Ranma sat at the counter as Harry shuffled in, showered and dressed for work. Breakfast was a simple affair in that Harry simply attempted to eat without wincing too much. He ate a piece of toast as quickly as possible while mumbling about abusive martial arts teachers.

Harry stuck a piece of toast in his mouth and mumbled around the corner, "You need to find a better way of waking me up, Ranma."

Ranma chuckled. "It worked, didn't it?"

Harry ignored her and just munched on his toast. "At any rate, it gives me incentive to teach you how to repair things tonight."

Ranma smiled and shook her head and concentrated on her own toast. Harry quickly conjured up a piece of parchment and a quill, and jotted down a list of description of the renovation project. He gave made one copy for Ranma and sent one by owl to Lupin, requesting his services for the project.

* * *

Ranma opened the front door slowly. It was a grim and dirty as the last time she saw it. Quietly walking up the stairs, she took in the bedrooms and began drawing up plans in her mind. She took a quick inventory of furniture in each room before moving downstairs, taking in the size of each room while contemplating which walls to remove.

A knock on the front door interrupted her contemplation. Immediately, a horrendous din rose from the entry hallway. Ranma winced as she stepped into the front hallway – the cloth curtains covering the mounted portraits had fallen down, and all the paintings were yelling as loud as possible.

Ranma opened the front door. Lupin flinched back as he was assaulted by the noise. With Lupin's help, they managed to replace all the coverings and quieted the portraits after about ten minutes.

Afterwards, Ranma and Lupin sat in the kitchen with examining the floor plans of the house. Lupin pulled out a compass and set it to work – it began to dance across the floor plan and make annotations in the margins as the two sat and discussed what to do.

Remus looked around at the dingy kitchen. He took a breath and released a sigh. "I'm glad Harry's doing this. He was never able to get rid of this house and couldn't bring himself to live here."

"Why not?"

Remus pursed his lips. "It's a long story, but the short version is that it was his godfather's house – He was one of Harry's few friends growing up, and he died trying to save Harry from an evil wizard."

"That Voldymut guy?"

Remus snorted. "Voldymut. I like that. His name was Voldemort."

Ranma shrugged. "What made him so bad?"

Remus pursed his lips. "There are people that, for whatever reason, feel necessary to take their bad luck out on those around him. He was blessed with being powerful at the same time.

Ranma snorted. "Yeah, I knew a guy like that named Ryoga. Pretty miserable fellow."

Lupin sighed and continued. "Yes, miserable, criminally psychotic and truly evil. He killed people indiscriminately, enjoyed terrorizing the defenseless, hounded the magical world for years, and was in general a huge pain in the ass. Harry lost a lot of friends fighting him."

"What happened to him?"

"Harry killed him in the end."

Ranma looked at her hands. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. Harry had to do it, and he ended up saving a lot of people." They both fell silent for a bit.

Remus piped up, "Anyway, that's neither here nor there, so let's get to work. What first?"

"First, I want to deal with those pictures in the hallway – especially that old shrieking old hag."

"Mrs. Black? We've tried numerous times – there's an Unstickable Charm on wall – we can't remove her portrait no matter how hard we try."

Ranma cracked her knuckles. "Perhaps you just haven't been… persuasive enough."

They worked quickly, removing portraits from the back of the hall forward, pitching the protesting occupants frame and all out the front door until only the portrait of Mrs. Black remained.

Ranma grabbed hold of the frame and gave it an experimental tug. She grunted at the unexpected resistance. She looked at Remus when he chuckled.

"I told you – Unstickable Charm. Impossible to remove."

Ranma sniffed. "Let's just see how strong this charm is, then." With that, she placed her hands on either side of the frame and braced one leg on the wall next to her hand. With a grunt she began to strain. The frame didn't budge. Ranma's lips curled into a sneer and she started to glow blue. The frame began to groan, and a second later her leg shot through the wall to stick out through the other side.

With a snarl she pulled her leg free of the wall. She looked at Lupin and jerked her thumb at the wall. "We don't need this wall for structural support, do we?"

He looked at the blue prints for a second. "It serves no real purpose – structural support isn't really as important in magical dwellings."

"Ah. Good." Ranma removed the covering on Mrs. Black portrait. The old woman blinked owlishly at her for a second before her face screwed up in a nasty frown.

"Who are you, you little trollop? What are you doing in my house?"

Ranma smiled at the portrait. "You and I have some things to discuss, you old biddy." She looked over her shoulder. "You might want to stand back, Remus – this could get messy."

* * *

Harry plopped into his chair and stared glassy-eyed and hissed in pain as his abused muscles protested. Immediately, notices and messages immediately began to swirl around his desk for approval. With a sigh he began to methodically work his way through the messages. He muttered as he read the subject lines and action requests, discarding most of them after reading a few words.

Just as he finished reading the last message, a flurry of new messages arrived. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose briefly before setting back to work.

It was going to be a long day.

By the time Harry left work, it was all he could do to keep his bleary eyes open. Practically every muscle in his body hurt and jaw-cracking yawns split his face every couple of minutes. He briefly considered taking the Knight Bus home but decided that would wear him out even more. He left the Ministry and quickly ported to 12 Grimmauld place.

He was immediately forced to duck as a large dresser flew out the door and sailed over his head, landing with a crash on top of a mountain of splintered wood, construction debris, and broken furniture three times as tall as Harry.

"Hi Harry! Sorry about that!" He looked up to see Ranma standing in the doorway, covered from head to toe in dust but still looking relatively fresh. She waved at him to come up. "We've made a lot of progress – come see!"

Harry gasped as he walked through front door. "Holy shit."

The entire place had been gutted, with only the hard wood floors of the first floor still in place. The building was only a shell at this point – every interior wall in the house had been knocked down. All the rafters and joists of the second and third floors were visible, suspended in the air above them like a spider web. Anything that wasn't a structural support beam had been ripped out, creating one cavernous room nearly forty feet high and twice as long.

Ranma smiled. "You like?"

Harry stood blinking as he tried to register the changes. "It is certainly a change." He looked around. "Hey, what happened to Mrs. Black?"

"The screechy old hag?"

"Yeah, how'd you get past the Unstickable charm?"

Ranma grinned. "I didn't. She wouldn't come off the wall, so I just tore the wall down. She's buried underneath most of the trash out there. It was the only way we could get her to stop screaming."

Harry snorted. "What's next, then?"

Ranma gestured to the second and third story joists. "Lupin's out getting some support beams so we can reframe the interior, then all this crap will come down. Then, it's hooking up water and such, and refinishing the floors and the exterior. I don't know how fast you can do things with magic, but even with the old fashioned construction, this shouldn't take long. You'll have the place ready in no time."

* * *

The Dojo was finished two weeks later. Until it was finished, however, Ranma would wake Harry (usually in some attention getting method) and train him. In the evenings, Harry returned the favor by making Ranma attempt to repair any damage to the house with magic and giving lessons. Harry set up a permanent port key to the dojo that operated on a simple verbal command, so training could be done at any time.

During one of the return trips from the dojo Ranma stared at the port key and asked, "How do you make one of these, and how far can one of these take you?"

Harry put his wand away and plopped down on the couch. "The first part's pretty easy, really. You can make anything you want into a port key, and all it takes is knowledge of the spell and a firm sense of where you want to go. As to the second part, well, anywhere, really." Harry shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

Ranma sat down on the other end and leaned back, arms behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. "I have to go back to China for a little bit in a couple of months. I have some unfinished business that I must take care off."

"What's that?"

"I made some promises that I have to keep. I won't be there long, but I need to go back at least once a year."

"Oh, alright. Just let me know if you need help."

"I will. Thanks, Harry."

"Your welcome." Harry leaned back as well, resting his neck on the back of the couch, emulating Ranma's posture. "Can I ask you something, Ranma?"

"What's that?" Ranma turned her head slightly until she could look at him.

"You're incredibly difficult to get to know on a personal level. You always seem to have a bunch of obligations and secrets but you never tell me about them. I've known you know for a couple of months, and I still don't even know where you were born or even your last name."

Ranma smirked. "You've got your own share of secrets, Harry."

"Yeah, and you never ask. I appreciate that, but most people tend to be a little bit more… curious. You only seem to want to talk about martial arts or magic."

"Does it bother you?"

Harry stretched his feet out in front of him and stared as his feet for a bit before answering. "No. But…"

"But?" Ranma cocked her eyebrows.

"I don't talk about my secrets because… well, I can't. I've removed them from my head so I don't remember." Harry pulled out his wand and touched it to his temple. When he pulled it away, a silvery, ethereal strand of wisp clung to the tip of his wand, stretching from his temple. The thin string of wisp connecting the wand and his head broke, leaving a wispy ball attached to the end of his wand.

"This," Harry said, "is a memory. This particular memory is nothing important – it's just this morning's breakfast. But," he touched the wand to his temple again, and the mist slowly dissolved as it was reabsorbed. Harry resumed talking, "some of my… darker memories have been removed this way. I still remember them, but I can't see the details unless I go to the Pensive."

Ranma looked curious. "The Pensieve?"

Harry nodded. "Memories, both good and bad, can be a burden. A Pensieve is a repository for memories and thoughts. You can store unwanted or important memories in it so they don't clutter your head, allowing you to think clearly and remember more accurately. The advantage is memories stored there don't decay over time, and they can be shared accurately with other people."

Ranma closed her eyes. "Some memories should never be shared."

Harry nodded. "I agree. Those memories are best locked away." He tapped his temple with his finger. "Just not up here. I used to think it was healthy, but I learned a long time ago that those memories would eat you apart."

Harry stood up. "Come with me." He waited until Ranma stood before walking down the hall towards his bedroom, checking to see if Ranma followed. He opened the door and into the master bathroom, opening a cabinet door and picking up a pair of tweezers from a toiletry kit.

Ranma looked at him quizzically. Harry just smirked and reached forward to grab Ranma's shirt. The second he made contact, Ranma felt the familiar pulling at his navel of a port key in operation.

The area they were in was pitch dark and cavernous. It smelled like wet earth, and in the distance the faint sound of water trickling over rocks could be heard.

"Luminos." Ranma blinked as Harry's wand suddenly flared to life. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around as saw that it was indeed a cave. It was only about 20 meters long from end to end. It was shaped like a football, with an arching ceiling that sloped towards the cave floor on all sides. She could see no entrance and couldn't feel the flow of air that indicated there was an opening somewhere. In the back there was a small pool of water, and roof of the cave was slick where moisture slowly bled down the wall into the pool.

"What is this place?" Ranma looked around.

"A shrine of sorts." Harry held his wand over his head and pointed to the water. "This way." He walked in the direction of the water, crouching as the ceiling sloped down towards the floor.

Ranma followed behind him. "A shrine? To what?"

"Memories." Harry knelt at the water's edge and touched the surface with his still-lit wand. The light diffused throughout the ripples, and the water continued to shine even after he pulled it away. Slowly, the light died, but Ranma could make out faint silvery wisps, almost like minnows, moving in the black water below. She could not see the bottom.

Harry cleared his throat. "Like I said earlier, some memories are too painful to keep, but too painful to let go." He pointed at the water with his free hand. "This is a pensieve, of sorts. I made it as a repository for me and my friends after…" he trailed off and shivered a little. "Anyway, after the Voldemort episode, I made this place. It has been very useful."

"Voldemort? The "evil wizard out to destroy the world" guy?"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, that one." He touched his wand to the water again. "Look."

A silvery wisp came closer to the surface, filling Ranma's vision until the entire surface of the pool showed an old graveyard at dusk. Harry reached for Ranma's shoulder and gently tugged on her sleeve.

"Follow me." Harry fell forward and slid into the water with out a splash.

Ranma muttered and shook her head. "Figures it has to do with water. Bah." She took a deep breath and followed. As soon as she hit the water, instead of the normal feel of diving into a pool, she felt herself falling down, down, down, always falling. Shapes and visions whirled by, but before she could make anything out her feet hit the ground with a jarring thud.

Harry was standing next to her, staring at a single tombstone in the middle of the graveyard. Ranma peered around his shoulder.

"Where is this place?"

"This is a memory. My memory, to be exact."

"So, um…" Ranma trailed off and looked around, taking in the scenery. "Cheerful place. Is it real? I mean, physically – can I get hurt while in your memory?" She put out her arms and touched the stone. "I can feel the stone but… I can feel that it isn't real. It has no… signature. No life force."

"That's because this place only exists in time. You can interact with the environment, but you are basically just an observer. It has advantages though, because it doesn't degrade with time and your own emotional state doesn't influence how the actual chain of events happened."

Ranma pursed her lips. "I could see how that would be useful – objective third person evaluation of your own memories."

"Doesn't make it any easier to witness them."

Ranma nodded. "No, I guess it wouldn't."

She looked around again. "I guess my next question is when and where is this memory taking place?"

Harry smiled. "This happened when I was 16 on the grounds of the Riddle Manor, in Little Hangleton."

"Uh, where's that?"

"England."

"Oh." Ranma put her hands around her back and walked around the grounds. "So, who's this Riddle guy?" She pointed at the tombstone.

"This is the grave of Voldemort's father."

"Why are we here?"

"To understand him, you should know about his family first." Harry pointed at the tombstone. "His father was bewitched and duped into loving a poor, wretched witch whose only fault was that she was born. She was one of the last of a great line of wizards, who through inbreeding and madness, became a wretched shell of their former glory and died out eventually. She fell in love with Tom Riddle and thought he might return that love one day after the potion wore off. To make a long story short, she released the spell, he ran away in horror, and his mother died after birth to her son, Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Ranma let out a mirthless chuckle. "I've had my fair share of experience with love potions. They tend to be rather… upsetting."

"Yes. Anyway, Voldemort got nothing from his father but his name. He hated him always, and was one of the first people he killed." Harry sat down on the corner of one tomb. "Voldemort became fascinated with immortality and dark, dark magic. He used the killings to make Horcruxes, containers for his soul. He split his soul into seven different pieces. As long as the containers remained undamaged, he couldn't be killed."

Harry pushed back his hair with his left hand. The lightning shape scar was apparent on his forehead, standing out vividly against the dark hair.

"He killed my parents when I was a baby. He was afraid of me, because he heard in a prophecy that I would be the only one who could finally defeat him. When he tried to kill me…" Harry cruelly drew his finger across his throat. "For whatever reason, he couldn't kill me. The curse rebounded on him and ripped the fragment of whatever soul he had left from his body. He became little more than a ghost, undying and yet not unable to assume a human form."

Ranma nodded. "I see. He couldn't die because his life force was bound to these containers."

"Right." Harry nodded. "So, there he is – dead, unable to really die, his forces scattered to the wind, and everybody believing the nightmare was over." Harry sighed. "It wasn't of course. He was just waiting for somebody to find him and help him restore his body."

"So what's with the graveyard?"

"This is really the start of everything. I'd had some encounters with Voldemort before, practically every year until I was 16. Tonight is the first time he was successful in resuming the flesh – a perverse sort of resurrection."

A rustling sound penetrated the graveyard. Harry stood. "It should start soon."

Ranma watched as a slovenly man carrying a bundled blanket walked into the graveyard. Soon, a much younger version of Harry and a handsome young man appeared in mid-air clutching a trophy cup, only to go sprawling as they landed.

"Kill the spare."

A flare of green light shot out of the man's wand, killing the handsome boy the instant it touched him.

Harry whispered softly, "Avada Kedavra. The killing curse. There is no defense against it, and no way of reversing it. It is one of the few spells forbidden to be cast by anyone."

Ranma watched in fascination as the younger Harry was bound to the tombstone and the macabre resurrection ritual of Voldemort's body began. Neither person spoke as they watched the summoning of the Death Eaters and the ensuing duel between the young Harry and Voldemort. When the young Harry reached the Tri-wizard cup, the scene turned black, and Ranma found herself back in the cave, sitting beside the water.

Harry slowly backed away from the water and stood in the center of the cave. Ranma followed.

Harry pulled out the tweezers and bounced them on the palm of is hand. He watched the motion and glanced casually at Ranma. "You don't have to show me now, but I hope you'll share some of your secrets."

Neither spoke as the port key took them back to Harry's apartment.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The wand flew out of the target dummy's hand and clattered to the floor behind it.

"Better!" Harry flicked his wand and reset the practice dummy that Ranma was facing.

Harry called out, "Again!"

Ranma flicked her wand and said the incantation again, sending the wand flying out of the dummy's hand.

"Excellent, Ranma! Do that one hundred times. You must reset the dummy yourself."

She nodded and turned back to the dummy to practice. With a quick flick and shout, the wand clattered to the floor once again.

"Just for fun, see if you can cast only using sub-vocalization."

"What do you mean?"

"Mouth the words but don't actually speak them."

Again, Ranma nodded and set to work.

Harry took a seat in the middle of the dojo Indian style, watching her and occasionally commenting on her form. Harry soon lost himself in the rhythmic sound of the wand clattering to the floor; he enjoyed watching her practice. The best thing about teaching Ranma was she never made the same mistake twice. Her martial arts background actually made learning the wand work pathetically easy. That meant they could spend a vast majority of the time working on actually making the magic work as desired.

In many ways, Ranma's tenacity and concentration in learning new techniques reminded him of Hermione doing research or homework. Ranma was inexhaustible, insatiable, and downright annoying because she didn't stop until she perfected it. Harry himself didn't have nearly the same level of patience and would quit long before she would.

Personally, he was glad that Ranma put the same amount of effort into teaching as she did into learning. Six months had passed since he started training with her. She had the patience of a saint to attempt to teach him the same basic ten steps of the kata every day. Harry was surprised that he wasn't bored by repeating the same set of maneuvers at every practice, and that was mostly to her credit as a teacher. He wasn't nearly good a student, but what he lacked in aptitude or reflexes he made up for in enthusiasm. She corrected, she reinforced, and she kept a simple repetitive task challenging and demanding. If he didn't pay attention, he got his ass handed to him every single time.

Once he adjusted to the new routine, he quickly got used to the rhythm of training. He'd get pounded on in the morning, limp and moan his way through the work day, and then abuse Ranma as much as he could in the evenings during his own magic teaching sessions. Tonks had long since stopped offering to perform healing charms on him at work. The first time he had done that to get over the soreness Ranma had 'punished' him in the next work out, making it twice as bad as previously.

Ranma was firm but clear: you couldn't take short cuts. You learned by experience. Like with magic, just because you knew the incantation didn't mean you could do the spell if your body wasn't trained to handle the rigors of casting. She explained that circumventing the natural healing process impeded the proper flow of Ki in the body, effectively negating the whole purpose of the training.

Worse, she illustrated by example. She jabbed a finger into his back that had somehow paralyzed his him temporarily. She called it "shiatsu" or pressure point manipulation; he called it terrifying. To be suddenly deprived of what he had taken for granted was even scarier than losing his sight or hearing. He had always taken for granted that magic made it pretty hard to incapacitate him. Ranma had rudely abused him of that notion.

It was also incredibly educational. Because she exposed his vulnerability so easily by destroying his ability to control something that felt second nature, the relearning process showed him where he had been inefficient or wasted motion. As a result, he had asked Ranma to repeat the pressure point on numerous occasions so that he could pay more attention to how magic flowed through his body. He felt more confident, and more in control than ever before, because the process of teaching and relearning the basics had given him a better sense of his own capabilities.

He'd never been in better shape in his life, even considering the level of punishment Ranma inflicted over the course of the training. She pushed just hard enough to make sure he always had to strain to keep up, but not so hard that he broke under the load. He smirked as he thought about the changes the training had wrought. He'd always been scrawny and underweight, but he'd put on some muscle and was recently upgraded by Tonks as "twiggy" to "wiry."

Tonks mentioned in passing that he would be eligible for another upgrade in few months if the current training regimen continued. As a joke, she'd even transfigured his office calendar to reflect the changing status of Harry's physique. The months had been renamed; January showed a picture of Harry as a teenager labeled, "Hopeless." She had cut and pasted Harry's blinking face onto a picture of a muggle body-builder for December, appropriately renamed "Beefcake." It was only "Striking" (October), so he still had two months before he had to meet Tonk's unrealistic expectations.

Harry had long since abandoned the idea of following the Hogwart's curriculum. So much of what Harry learned there had been interesting but unnecessary. Harry's real world experience and Ranma's own aptitude meant that Harry could adapted his lessons to match the type of style that suited them both – fast paced, practical, and primarily focused on immediately useful offensive and defensive capabilities.

To that end, Harry was pushing her just as hard as she pushed him by trying to train her in the use of voiceless and wandless magic. Harry had been quite clear that even magical geniuses took decades to master the art of pure magic. Even if she continued at her current rate of speed, basic control of even elementary wandless magic would take years. Ranma didn't get discouraged by the information; she simply nodded and asked when they could start.

Harry a few theories about why Ranma could physically and mentally accomplish extremely difficult magical tasks. For one, she was wickedly smart in the same way that Ron was unbeatable at Wizard's chess. Secondly, she was incredibly focused. The level of power necessary to complete this particular challenge was not beyond what any first year student at Hogwarts was capable of. However, the level of concentration and attunement to your body and surroundings was the real area of mastery required to accomplish voiceless magic. Her repertoire of spells was pretty abysmal because she refused to learn spells just to know them. She learned one spell at a time and worked for days to perfect every aspect of the spell. She'd found uses for old, simple, spells that Harry had never thought of – such as her repeated use of levitating traps and other charming uses of a first year spell that he hadn't thought to use for years.

Harry also believed that her own incredible physical ability and ability to channel Ki had groomed her body to channel magic. Her mastery of Ki was pretty spectacular (as far as Harry was concerned, anyway. He couldn't do anything with it and certainly had never met anyone else who could.) They had spoken about it at length. He still didn't understand how she could run the distance between the dojo and his apartment in about twelve minutes, but he did understand that the level of ki manipulation required was phenomenal.

Because she was such a high level practitioner in one art (martial), a lot of the skills transferred over readily to the other (magic). At this point, it was simply training the body to do both. The pathways through which magic and ki flowed through the body were different yet related. In biological terms, they were related much in the same way that cardiac and pulmonary systems were related. Ki flowed through the body like blood – a completely internal mechanism that both energized the system and flushed waste. It was self regulating and always constant, flowing and circulating through the body. You could improve how efficiently it ran or how much volume it pumped, but only with a great deal of effort.

Magic was external, much like air. Its supply was unlimited, but you could only draw as much into your body as your lungs had capacity. You capacity was genetic but could be influenced by training, much like the cardiovascular system. You could never channel more than your lungs could hold, but you could train your body to take in more with each use and be more efficient with it. The interaction between the two systems was the real puzzle. Neither Harry nor Ranma knew, but they both suspected that an efficiency in one system lead to benefits for the other.

Did having a hyper-developed Ki transport system (like Ranma) mean that the body was more readily able to absorb and use magic and vice versa? They had established early on that there were completely independent of each other; also they yet to be able to combine the two and create ki-laced magic or magic laced with ki. They had tried to make the two interact, but it was like oil and water. Ranma, at least, was able to summon a sphere of ki in one hand while using magic with the other. She compared the feeling to having one hand in cold water and the other in hot – her senses were confused and 'tingly.'

Harry found her single minded determination to learn puzzling. She practiced even after the lessons. He would call it a compulsion except for the fact he knew she really enjoyed the challenge. Given the amount of time they spent together, Harry had a pretty good picture of what type of person she was, but absolutely no idea of what made her the person she became. After the visit to Harry's pensieve a few months ago, Harry hadn't pressed her for any information about her own background, hoping she would open up to him voluntarily.

He learned some minor details; he knew she hated cats, ate any kind of food regardless of quality and needed massive quantities of the stuff, couldn't write very legibly because she once shattered most of the bones in her right hand punching through six inches of steel (she succeeded.) He knew she liked music, meditation, and cooking.

She was quick and intelligent, but not widely read. At the same time, she had a vast store of esoteric knowledge and was hopelessly clueless about pop culture or even society in general. She was sensitive and at the same time pretty obtuse about other's feelings. He had learned more than he ever wanted or needed to know about all the various training related injuries she'd suffered over the years, but still didn't know all that much about what kind of training she had been doing to receive the thousands of scars he'd been shown.

She was a puzzle; she frustrated him and fascinated him, and he wanted to know more. She was completely willing to talk with him at great length about anything and everything he wanted, except about herself. Conversations that seem like had lasted only 5 minutes in reality stretched hours. He had originally started training with her because she had amazed him with her abilities. The more he saw the more impressed he became, but at the same time she did nothing to satisfy his curiosity or answer his questions.

By the time she finished all one hundred casts she had a faint sheen of perspiration on her forehead from the concentration. Harry smiled when he saw it, because he knew from experience that it took anincredible amount of effort to make Ranma break a sweat at all.

Harry stood. "Wonderful! Okay, next, we do the same drill blindfolded. Extend your senses as much as possible and try and find the magic in the room around you. Concentrate on trying to feel your  
opponent's wand - the source of the magic."

Ranma groaned and reached into her pocket, pulling out a thick silk ribbon. She quickly tied the ribbon around her head and readied herself again.

"Ready."

"Oh, and Ranma?"

"Yes?"

"The dummy will move after each cast. You can only turn to face it, but you may not get any closer, okay? You can not use your ki to find the dummy. You may only locate it through sensing the ambient magic on the wand."

She nodded and clenched her jaw. "Got it."

"Commence on my word." Harry cast a simple _luminos_ with the practice dummy's wand before replacing it. He cast a quick spell to give the dummy mobility and a second charm that would make it move about the room at random. Satisfied that the target would move appropriately, he moved to the side of the dojo room and sat.

"Go!"

Any normal magical student with only six months training probably could have only done one or two voiceless casts before becoming exhausted. That, of course, assumed they were capable of doing it at all. Harry knew only a few adult magicians who would be capable of tracking a wand emitting low level magic across an empty room blind-folded. He had tried it himself when Ranma wasn't watching to see if it was feasible. He'd failed miserably until he concentrated hard, and he was considered good at detecting ambient magic. It wasn't a matter of how strong you were with magic, but rather a much more complex relationship between how in tune with your body you were and what you wanted to accomplish.

Harry watched her as she tried to track the dummy as it moved across the room.

"Narrow your concentration. Focus only on what you can feel."

In terms of sheer magical power, Ranma would probably never be more than an average witch. But in terms of ability, Harry had no doubt that she would be a formidable force once properly trained. She would be deadly, particularly because she concentrated so much on the "difficult" aspects of magic that many people thought too challenging to bother with. Such as tracking a training dummy by its magical signature while blind folded and doing silent magic. Any one of those tasks could be challenging. Together, it was sheer lunacy.

And yet, she was succeeding. She had more misses than hits, but even her misses were always in the right general direction. It took her about two hours to finish, and by the time she did the blindfold was dripping in sweat.

She ripped the blind fold off and dropped to the floor, laying spread eagle as she stared at the ceiling and concentrated on slowing her breath.

"Harry?"

"Yah?"

"That really sucks."

Harry chuckled and stood, walking over to offer her a hand up. She looked up at him balefully for a second before sighing in mock defeat. He grabbed her extended hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Okay, next I want you do the do same thing and stand on one foot…" Harry trailed off.

"You're kidding, right?"

He smirked. "Of course. You're done for the night, anyway. Why don't you go shower and I'll get some dinner ready."

She wrinkled her nose. "By getting dinner ready, you mean take out again, don't you?"

"No, I'm actually going to cook this time. Nothing fancy, but…" he shrugged.

She eyed him carefully. "Well, in that case I'm going to take a bath. See you in bit?"

Harry nodded and walked with her to the front door. She always ran home after practice, while Harry would port back. Ranma carefully tucked her wand away somewhere before stepping outside. Harry never really understood where she stored her wand but she never put it in a pocket and always had it in her hand when she needed it. He'd even attempted to summon it a few times just to see where she stashed it and was unable to do so. It had earned him a few dark looks, however. He had asked about it and she just smirked and refused to answer.

When she left, Harry closed the front door behind her and touched the old brass knocker that used to hang on the front door. It now served as the Portkey between the dojo and his apartment. He felt the familiar hooking sensation in his navel as he was transported back to the front door of his flat. When he got in, he looked up at the clock above the door and noted the time.

He went to the kitchen and began preparing vegetables. He and Ranma had been sharing the cooking responsibilities, alternating nights. She was by far better - he wasn't a great cook, but he had been forced to learn over the years. Magic helped, of course. He was mostly done with the chopping (the knife chopped while he just stayed out of the way, really) when Ranma came in through the front door, slightly out of breath and faintly perspiring.

"Time?"

Harry looked at the clock above the front door.

"About eleven and a half minutes."

"Oh well. I'll get it under ten minutes in a couple of months. I'll just need to do some more training on my own." She shrugged and headed towards the bedroom that was now hers. Harry heard the bathroom door open and close, and the sound of running water filling the tub.

One of the big changes was actually living with someone again, and a female at that. As a roommate, Ranma was pretty great. She was clean, quiet, didn't clutter up the bathroom shelves with an assortment of girly products. She had a good sense of humor and often played pranks on him, but never broke anything or disrupted the way he used the shared space. If anything it was almost as if she made no attempt to make her presence even subtly felt. He had yet to come across even modest acknowledgements to her femininity like pads, tampons, or balls of hair in the shower drain. She had no pictures in her room, no clothes hanging in the closet, and added no personal touches to the common space they shared. Everything she used went back into the same spot it came from to such a degree it was uncanny.

The only weird habit she had was an obsession with taking baths in really hot water. Harry had once gone into the bathroom after she had finished taking a bath and nearly passed out from the heat. The water itself was only a few degrees below the boiling point – he knew because he had shown her how to boil water with her wand. He had watched in disbelief as she had boiled the tub of water and then shooed him out the door. As he was walking away he had heard her step into the water with an audible sigh of relief.

The other difficult fact about sharing a flat with an attractive woman was that Ranma had practically no sense of modesty. Her lounging clothes were not sexy or revealing, but at the same time did nothing to hide the fact that she was incredibly well proportioned. Harry had a number of sleepless nights already caused by accidental glimpses of cleavage and legs due to the tank top and boxer combo she seemed to favor as sleep wear.

Harry was positive Ranma was unaware of the effect she was having. She was not trying to torment him and the few incidents that had happened were completely accidental, but the effect was cumulative. He'd always admired her beauty, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. He had hoped that it would die as familiarity bred, well, not contempt, but at least acceptance. If anything, it had made it even more difficult.

Dinner was ready right around the same time Harry heard Ranma step out of the bath. She came to the table wearing a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, still drying her hair with a towel. She stopped short when she noticed the bottle of wine and candles set in addition to the plates and silverware.

"What's with this?"

Harry shrugged. "Do you mind?"

She sighed. "No. It's just…" She trailed off.

"It's just what?"

"Never mind." She shrugged and sat down, placing her napkin in her lap and waiting while Harry lit the candles.

Once dinner started, she picked at her food and answered questions in monosyllables, not really looking up from her plate. Harry gave up after a while recognizing that she did not want to talk. She had only eaten about half her food when she pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair, arms clutched across her stomach.

"Harry?"

He placed his silverware on his plate and looked over. "Yes?"

"You've got a crush on me, I take it?"

He blushed and buried his face into his wine glass.

She sighed. "Thought as much."

Harry looked up. "Do you…?"

She looked him in the eyes. "Nope. Sorry."

Silence reigned for a bit as Harry topped off his glass of wine. He offered to fill her glass, she waved it off.

"Well," Harry took a sip before continuing, "This is awkward."

"Yeah."

The silence stretched for a bit. Harry just methodically sipped his wine, staring at the candles.

She reached over and gave his forearm a squeeze. "You're a good friend, Harry. I haven't had too many of those in my life."

"Glad you consider me one."

"I do. I will continue to do so. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you've taught me, but if it will be too difficult for you I understand. I can move out and on. I won't bother you anymore."

Harry grunted and felt his stomach drop. He cleared his throat. "Because I can't help that I find you attractive and interesting?"

She was silent for a good while, chewing on her lip. Finally she broke the silence. "I can't give you what you want." She gestured at the candles. "I… just can't."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it I want?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not stupid, you know. Beautiful woman, lots of close contact, candle lit dinners, blah blah blah." She shrugged. "As much as I wish it could be different, I can tell you know with absolute certainty that between you and me, we will never be able to be more than friends."

Harry tipped his glass to her. "To friends, then."

"To friends." She matched his gesture and the two of them knocked back the contents of their wine glasses in one swift gulp.

She gently placed her glass down on the table and watched Harry as he examined the few remaining drops of wine in his glass. Ranma sighed. "My life would have been much easier if I were ugly."

"I still would have found you interesting."

She shrugged. "Maybe, but not attractive, and I wouldn't have to hurt your feelings."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm a grown man, Ranma. I merely mentioned that I was interested in you. You let me know that it isn't possible. I'm willing to accept that, but you have yet to bother explaining why."

She closed her eyes. "Remember when you showed me your memories in the pensieve?"

"Yes."

"I haven't been able to share my memories with you yet because… I don't really know how. I'm not good at stuff like this, so I kept putting it off. I was hoping I didn't have too."

"The mysterious woman bit just made you more intriguing, you know."

She gave him a wan smile.

"Harry, you're the closest friend I've had in sixteen years. I knew I was probably attractive to you, but in my naiveté I was hoping this would never be an issue."

Harry put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the backs of his knuckles. "I do believe that is more personal information about yourself than you've ever given me."

Ranma laughed. "Alright, Mr. Potter. You want to know about my life?"

Harry nodded.

"One sec." Ranma got up from the table and went to her room. She came back changed, wearing her favorite Chinese kung fu outfit and a scroll of parchment clasped in her hands. She unrolled it to reveal a map of China and placed it down next to her plate, between the two of them.

"Can you take us to this area?" She pointed just south of Mt. Kinsei in the Qinghai Province in west central China.

"Bayankala Mountains?" Harry asked. "What's there?"

"Answers. I'll show you all about myself and why this would never work, if you're willing to come with me."

"It will take me a bit to figure out how to get there. It's a little far to travel my normal way, and a portkey would take me a while to make."

"How long?"

Harry scratched his head and muttered a few calculations. "Probably about three or four hours."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Harry hung his head in defeat. "Alright. Let me clear dinner first."

"I'll do that. You work on the magic bit. Can I pack for you? You won't need much."

"You know where everything is?"

"Sure."

It took Harry just over three hours to get it right. He grumbled to himself as he touched his wand to the apple they would use as a portkey (biodegradable and delicious to boot). He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he murmured the proper incantation and fixed the spot he wanted to be transported clearly in his mind.

"Alright, it's ready. Grab hold, it is set to go in ten seconds." He touched one finger to the surface.

"Good." Ranma handed him a backpack and shouldered her own. She put her finger next to his. "Thanks, Harry."

He shrugged.

Harry felt the familiar pulling of a portkey in action. He'd never traveled this far by one before, so it was a unique experience to watch as the earth sped by underneath. Ranma as being dragged along side, occasionally bumping into him as the apple pulled them to their destination.

When the pulling stopped Harry's feet hit the ground hard. He stumbled forward but stopped as Ranma's hand grabbed his shoulder and kept him from falling. He shrugged out of his pack and set it on the ground, pulling out his wand and shrinking it till it fit in his pocket.

"That's cheating!"

"No, it's practical. You can carry yours if you want, but I'm not nearly in as good shape as you are." Harry looked around. They were standing in a steep valley with sparse vegetation and jagged, snow capped mountains towering above, blocking out most of the light. The air was brisk and cold; come nightfall it would be bitter. In the distance one end of the valley opened up into a green lush plain covered in tree growth. A single line of smoke marred the horizon.

Ranma pointed towards the smoke. "That way."

* * *

They didn't speak as they walked. After about an hour they managed to leave the valley. Harry looked around and realized the plain was actually just a large valley. Steep mountains surrounded the entire area, snow capped and forbidding. A couple of tall peaks stood out from the plain some distance away. In the middle of the peaks it looked as if one mountain had been destroyed – only the base and a pile of debris remained where the mountain used to stand. Framed by the tall mountains on either side, the absence highlighted the destruction even more.

"Mt. Horai." Ranma's voice startled him.

She pointed to the pile of rubble. "That used to be called Mt. Horai."

"What happened to it?"

"Remember when I told you my fiancée died in a fight while I was trying to save her?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that was the scene of the fight. We destroyed the mountain trying to kill each other."

Harry just stared, unable to comprehend. "How? I mean..."

Ranma shrugged out of her backpack and dropped it to the ground. She held out the palm of her hand. "Emotions affect the power of your ki. This is pure ki." A small sphere of Ki formed instantly, about the size of a golf ball, pure white and stable. "It has no emotions attached to it. As such, it is infinitely malleable and incredibly useful." The sphere grew to about the size of a bowling ball. "The larger the amount of Ki, the more power it packs. This could probably destroy your apartment building in London."

Ranma knitted her eyebrows and drew in a deep breath. She struck her hand out straight in front of her. The sphere in her hand suddenly enlarged until it was about three feet in diameter. Sweat popped out on her brow. "This could make a crater as big around as a soccer pitch."

The sphere slowly reabsorbed into her hand. Ranma leaned over, slightly out of breath. "As you can see, it takes a lot of work to channel that much ki. But, emotions can sometimes be substituted as a source of energy. Each emotion has a particular color associated with it, and can either add or detract from the destructiveness of the attack."

She stood up straight and looked at the remains of the mountain. "During our fight, we were throwing balls of ki at each other the size of houses. Something that size packs the force of a small tactical nuclear weapon." Her eyes narrowed. "He killed my fiancée. I was in a grief filled rage. Plus, he was just a sadistic bastard, intent on killing everyone I loved."

Harry swallowed. "A small nuke?"

Ranma nodded. "It only took one blast to level the mountain."

"What happened to him?"

"What do you think?" She picked up her backpack and slung it around her shoulder, leaving him behind as she continued on towards the smoke.

* * *

"I used to have a fairly normal life, Harry." For the first time since they had met, Ranma was telling Harry about herself. He listened, afraid to interrupt lest she clam up again. They were chatting as they walked, heading towards the smoke in the distance. More accurately, she was talking while he listened. "I take that back. I never had a normal life, but it seemed normal enough to me at the time. My father was a martial artist. He wanted nothing more than to make me the best of my generation."

"You mean there are people better than you?"

"Who knows?" She smirked. "He was so blinded by his own ambitions for me that he didn't consider the consequences. He took me away from my mother when I was only five years old. After that, all we did was travel and train, scouring Japan, Korea, and China for the best martial arts techniques and training methods."

"How long did you travel together?"

"For eleven years. We never stayed in one place longer than a couple weeks, at most."

Harry shook his head. "What about school?"

"I went occasionally, but I missed most of it. My father," she spat the word, "never believed that anything besides martial arts were important."

"Not to disparage your father, but he sounds like an idiot."

"He is. I thought he was the paragon of virtue, because he never let me have friends or any outside influences that would show me how miserable a man he actually is." Ranma sighed. "I didn't realize that my father was an honor-less, spineless, idiot, completely incapable of making rational decisions or looking out for my welfare for a long time." She stopped and picked up a small stone, bouncing it on the palm of her hand. "Where ever we went, my father robbed, cheated, and stole, all in the name of 'training.' He used me as a scapegoat, would sell me off as force labor or engage me to some random family, and then steal me away and run to the next country." She frowned and rolled the stone across her hand.

"By the time I was done traveling with him, I had about six known fiancées, dozens of rivals, and untold numbers of enemies out to cause me pain."

"Jesus, Ranma. I thought I had it bad at the Dursley's."

She chuckled. "I'm sure being locked in a cupboard for the first ten years of your life was not easy, though."

"Yeah, but they mostly ignored me."

"And my old man actively endangered my life. You know I don't like cats, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Do you want to know why?"

"Of course."

She pulled up her sleeves to show fine scratches that lined the sides of her arms. "Remember these?"

"Yeah, you showed them to me once."

"I'm covered in them. My father, in his infinite wisdom, stole a training manual for a sealed martial arts style." She rolled her sleeves back down, calmly rolling the stone around in the palm of her hand.

"A 'sealed' style? What's that?"

"Banned. Like you explained to me – there is some magic that you are never allowed to practice. It has been deemed too inhuman or to evil to be allowed to continue."

Harry nodded. "Unforgivables."

"Yeap. My father got a hold of the equivalent for martial arts. He was chased out of town when they found out he had stolen it, so he never really learned why they shouldn't be practiced. He also wasn't a patient man, so he never bothered to read the manual more than necessary."

Ranma tossed the stone and imbedded it in a nearby tree. "He tried to teach me the Cat Fist."

"Cat Fist?"

"The idea is to allow the practitioner to assume the qualities of a cat. If you master it, you get all sorts of great abilities, like inhuman flexibility, litheness, quickness, reflexes, and the other attributes that make cats such effective killers. You become unbeatable in a fight. The problem is, almost everyone who attempted to learn this style are either killed or goes insane in the process."

"Why is that?"

Ranma took a deep breath. "The training involves throwing a bunch of starving cats in a deep pit, keeping them in there until they become crazed, covering the trainee in fish products, and throwing them into the pit over and over and over."

Harry looked at her aghast. "Your father subjected you to this?"

She nodded grimly. "Repeatedly."

"How old were you?"

"I was ten at the time. Eventually, I become so injured and so terrified of cats that the next time I got thrown in the pit, my mind snapped. I can never remember when it happens, but in essence you become like a cat, mentally. Most people get stuck that way – they believe they are a cat and never revert to human consciousness."

"How did you avoid that, then?" Harry asked.

"I was one of the few lucky ones you hear about. I got a bunch of scars, a phobia that incapacitates me, and an unbeatable fighting style that is worse than useless."

Harry was puzzled. "How is an unbeatable fighting style useless?"

"You can switch between the two states, but you can't control the process. It gets induced because you become so terrified of cats that when ever you see one, you revert to a cat like state."

"What happens if you see a cat now?"

"I've gotten better about it." She laughed. "As a kid I used to run away screaming. It was so bad I couldn't even say the word 'cat.'" She tapped her temple with her forefinger. "I've had lots of therapy since that happened. I no longer sniveling mess, But I'll never like the fuckers."

"I'm sorry, Ranma."

"It isn't your fault. On the bright side, it opened my eyes to what kind of wretched human my father was. He wasn't evil, but just stupid enough to try anything. Being stupid is almost worse than being evil, in some ways. You can respect an evil genius, but a moron will always be a moron. The Cat Fist was just one of his many mistakes, and not even his worst."

She fell silent again, and Harry just followed along behind. They didn't talk for quite a while. Harry concentrated on the scenery, taking in the vistas while mulling over what Ranma had just told him.

When Ranma spoke again it caught him by surprise. "We're almost there."

"Where is it we're going?"

Ranma pointed to a structure just visible in the distance. "The village of the Chinese Amazons." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Just to warn you – this village is comprised of crazy warrior women that treat men no better than slaves. While we are there, you will probably get picked on some."

"What do you mean?"

"They hate men. On general principle, they go out of their way to demean males. The best defense is to do absolutely nothing – don't talk to anyone, don't rise to the bait. Stick with me and you'll be fine."

* * *

The village looked more like a fortress. A log palisade ringed the entire compound, with only one gate in or out that was flanked by guard towers on either side. Women with chest armor and bows frowned from on top of the entrance but did nothing to stop the two as they entered the village. The inside of the village was incongruous with the formidable entrance. It wasn't a large place; it had a large central clearing ringed by rows of low, orderly log cabins, each with a small yard and a holding pen for livestock. Everything was very rustic, with the houses having slate shingles and barrels at each corner to catch rain water. Chickens and small children roamed the dirt streets, and live stock bellowed. Curious faces watched from windows as they passed.

Harry guessed it was less than a half a mile in circumference, just enough to hold just over a hundred houses.

Ranma just walked confidently into the village center, towing Harry along behind her. Harry grew increasingly nervous as he noted that the people watching were all armed, fingering their weapons thoughtfully as the pair passed. By the time she stopped walking, pair were loosely surrounded by a circle of women that watched suspiciously. It suddenly occurred to Harry that he hadn't seen a single male since he entered the village.

Harry was startled out of his observation when Ranma began speaking in a language he didn't understand. A few of the women shifted and bounced with nervous excitement, but no one spoke to them. Ranma said something else, her tone harsh and commanding. A young girl with green hair grimaced and nodded before turning on her heels and running towards the other end of the village.

"Ranma?" Harry started to ask a question before she cut him off.

"Shh. Don't speak." She surveyed the crowd, relaxed but alert. "It's okay. They're just shocked to see me."

Presently, the green haired youngster returned, followed by a voluptuous purple headed woman and small troll on a stick. At least, that's what it looked like to Harry. It was about the size of a house elf, with a horribly wrinkled face and long white hair that reached the ground. It bounded forward into the circle and remained balanced on the end of a walking staff, perched on top of the handle.

Ranma murmured a few more things. The troll responded in kind before turning and addressing the rest of the assembled women in a raised voice. What ever she said was disappointing news, because groans went up from the assembled crowd. A few women shot Harry a disgusted look before the circle began to disperse.

Ranma turned to Harry and whispered, "Follow me closely."

* * *

It was good to see Ku Lon. For as much pain as she had caused Ranma early on in their relationship, she was one of the few people from her past Ranma kept in contact with and respected.

Ranma watched as Mu Tsu escorted Harry to one of the cushions on the floor. For a one time rival, they got along surprisingly well. He liked the guy. Now that he was married and no longer trying to kill Ranma with every opportunity, he got to appreciate his intelligence and sense of humor.

Ku Lon watched Harry sit as well before speaking to Ranma in Chinese. "Hmm… He's attractive enough. I supposed you could have done worse, Ranma."

Mu Tsu chuckled quietly under his breath while serving tea.

An indignant squawk arose. "Hey, ya old bat, it ain't like that!"

"Oh no?"

"No!"

"Shame." She reached around and smacked Ranma on the ass. "You're depriving some lucky male of a phenomenal physique."

Ranma sputtered, "You old hag!"

Ku Lon whipped her staff out of no where and waved it threateningly at Ranma. "Do I have to give you another lesson in manners?"

Ranma just sniffed. "You could try. I remember very clearly last time you tried to 'put me in my place,' I had to carry you home." Ranma grinned.

Ku Lon just smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that was a good fight." She looked at Harry, clutching her staff. "Not much of a fighter, is he?"

"He's coming along. He'll be decent enough with time. He has other talents."

Ku Lon's eyebrows rose. "Oh, does that mean you've finally accepted fate and moved on?"

Ranma snorted. "Not on your life."

"Are you still holding out hope?"

Ranma didn't answer, but she did nod in Harry's direction. "He's a magic user."

Ku Lon looked over at Harry. "Really?"

"Yeah. A really, really good one, too."

"Interesting."

"Ranma?"

"Yes, Ku Lon?"

"Are you sure you don't want to have some babies? We've got a bevy of young males who'd be willing to help out Ranma the Phoenix Slayer."

Ranma's eye started to twitch, which just sent Ku Lon into a fit of laughter. "Come then, Ranma. Introduce me to your guest."

Ranma gently wrapped one arm around the diminutive martial arts master and gave her a brief hug. "If I didn't respect you so much, I just might have to whoop your ass again."

"Same here, sonny boy."

* * *

Harry's eyes adjusted to the dim light in the interior. The man in the white robe showed him to a cushion on the ground and motioned for him to sit. When he did, the man promptly served his a bitter, aromatic tea with a chuckle before withdrawing, moving to the back of the house.

Ranma and were engaging in an animated conversation. The troll looked at Harry and smiled; not a pleasant experience. Harry tried to hide a smirk as he watched Ranma's indignant reaction to being felt up. They continued to chat for some time, glancing over at Harry occasionally. He got the feeling he was the topic of conversation.

He used their chatter as an opportunity to look around the house. It wasn't grand by any sense. It was a simple timber frame construction with Adirondack style siding visible from the inside. The lamps were oil burning – the faint burnt animal fat hung in the air.

Conversation died as Harry saw Ranma wrap an arm around the diminutive figure in a brief hug.

"Harry, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite teachers." Ranma gestured to the woman. "She's older than dirt at this point, but she's still one of the deadliest martial arts masters I've ever met."

The woman used her staff to rap Ranma on the forehead. "That's for being an imprudent whelp." She turned back to Harry. "Forgive me. Ranma tells me a lot about you. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mage." She bowed. "My name is Ku Lon, eldest of the Chinese Amazons and matriarch of the tribe."

Harry was shocked to hear perfect English. He tried to cover his shock by introducing himself. "I'm Harry Potter. The pleasure's all mine." He extended his hand to shake. "How do you pronounce your name again?"

"Ku Lon."

"Colonge?"

Ku Lon shrugged. "Close enough." She looked at him for a bit, her eyes squinting. She walked slowly over to him, peering intensely into his eyes. "What brings you to this remote region of the world, young Mage?"

Harry pointed at Ranma. "She did. She said she had some business to take care of here and also that she wanted to show me some things about her past."

Ku Lon looked over her shoulder at Ranma, carefully evaluating him. "So, have you finally decided to claim a… ?"

Ranma cut her off. "I didn't come here to talk about that now."

"Then what did you come to talk about, Ranma?"

"Curses."

"Ah…" Ku Lon nodded. "I thought as much." She sighed. "Would you like Mu Tsu and Xian Pu's help as well?"

Ranma nodded. "I would appreciate it."

"I will fetch them and the necessary equipment."

"Thank you, Ku Lon."

The old woman waved him off, shuffling towards the back of the house.

"What curses?" Harry asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit." Ranma sat down across from Harry. Ranma asked, "What makes a curse a curse?"

"Well, a curse is considered a curse because of the quality of the adversity it brings. Anything beneficial is usually considered a charm or blessing."

Ranma nodded. "Okay, what kind of curses are you familiar with, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're asking me this?"

"Yeah." She held up her hand. "Not specific spells, but actual types of curses."

"Oh… Hmm." He put scratched his chin for a bit, thinking. "Well, there's magical, spiritual, and supernatural or divine curses."

"What about duration?"

"Most curses are the fast acting types, that do any number of things from causing bad luck to pain, and they take effect instantaneously and usually are short lived in duration. They make up a vast bulk of the curses out there."

"Can you cure them?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure, most curses are easily reversed, if the effects don't dispel on their own."

"What about incurable curses?"

Harry shook his head. "Not too many of those. If it is strong enough to last a lifetime, chances are it would probably be strong enough to considerably shorten that life."

Ku Lon entered into the room again with the long-haired man in the white robe and the tall purple-headed woman from earlier. They both sat down next to Ranma and simply waited. Ranma nodded and said something in Chinese to the new arrivals.

"Harry, have you ever heard of a place called Jusenkyou?"

"You mentioned it before, but outside of that, no."

Ranma stood walked behind the two sitting Amazons. "This," he pointed at the long-haired man in the white robe, "is Mu Tsu. She's his wife, Xian Pu. Two strong Amazons." The two bowed to Harry. Ranma accepted a pitcher of water from Ku Lon. She hefted it. "Cold water." Seeing Harry's look of confusion, she said, "Watch."

With that she poured it over the head of the two sitting Amazons. Harry's brain did a quick double take as they disappeared, leaving a pile of wet clothes crumpled where they had been sitting. The clothing shifted, and out of Mu Tsu's pile a duck climbed out, while a small purple and white cat climbed out of the clothing that occupied the space where Xian Pu had been sitting.

The two animals shook their bodies to rid them of the water. Ranma closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Uh. Cats." She blushed. "Sorry Xian Pu."

The cat just shrugged and meowed piteously.

"Ready for the hot water?" Both animals nodded and climbed back into their piles of clothing. Ranma picked up a steaming kettle and poured it into the piles, which rapidly expanded, leaving two slightly wet Amazons in place.

Ku Lon said something to the two; they stood and left.

Harry's brain was calculating furiously. "Corporal transfiguration curses triggered by temperature differences?"

"What?"

"Shape-shifting curses triggered by hot or cold, right?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah."

"Is it just general temperature or water specific?"

Ranma put the water down and sat. "Fluid specific – anything liquid that's hot or cold can trigger it."

Harry chewed it over. "No cure?"

Ranma shook her head. "No known cure, at least. And…" she sighed, "it's permanent."

Harry blinked. "Ah."

Ku Lon chimed in. "Ah, indeed, young Potter. These curses originate not far from here, in a very powerful place. It is called Jusenkyou, or the Cursed Pools of Sorrow. It is a small valley, dotted with hundreds of pools, each with their own tragic story. First, the pool is born, pure in form but tainted with magic. When something falls into that pool, the pool swallows them and imprints the form into the water's memory. From that point after, any person or animal unfortunate enough to fall in the pool takes to form of whatever drowned in the pool previously. They have been there for thousands of years, claiming victim after victim."

He blanched. "Thousands of years?"

Ranma looked puzzled. "Why would the time matter?"

"It's just that magic that feeds on victims tends to get stronger the longer it sits. Something that has been around that long… It would be inescapable." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Given enough time, it could probably start capturing… other stuff."

Ku Lon nodded. "Some of the pools hold trapped forms that are quite… powerful."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

Ranma answered. "Ghosts, dragons."

Ku Lon joined in, "Mythological creatures, demons."

"Gods," came as a hushed whisper from Ranma.

Harry suddenly found his mouth dry. "Gods?"

Ku Lon and Ranma both nodded.

"Those two?"

Ku Lon replied, "My granddaughter, Shampoo, fell into the _Māonìchuan, _or Spring of the Drowned Cat. Her husband fell into the _Yānìchuan_, the Spring of the Drowned Duck."

"Wait…" Harry blinked again. Harry stared at Ranma for a bit before whipping out his wand and shooting a stream of hot water at her. Drenched and still female, she began to wring out her pigtail.

"Does that mean you aren't cursed?"

Ranma re-braided her hair and shook the water from her hands. "Oh, no, I most assuredly have a curse."

"What do you turn into?"

"I fell into the _Nyannìchuan_, or the Spring of the Drowned Girl."

"Then… shouldn't the hot water turn you back?"

She sighed. "You see, that's the problem. It doesn't anymore."

Harry listened as Ranma told her tale. Born a man, born to be a man among men, Ranma Saotome was raised by her father to be a martial arts prodigy and nothing else. Harry heard about the training, the traveling, and finally, the multiple engagements.

"Wait – Shampoo used to be one of your fiancées?"

Ranma grinned. "Yeah. Man, that brings back memories." She chuckled. "Could you imagine being engaged to someone who one of the most voluptuous women you'd ever met and just happened to transform into the thing you feared most?"

Harry blanched as he thought of being engaged to a dementor. "What happened?"

She shrugged. "As far as I can tell, something happened to me during that fight with Saffron. After Akane died…" she grew quiet for a second before resuming. "Hot water just stopped working."

"Do you know why?"

Ku Lon chimed in at this point. "We have a few theories as to why it happened."

"What are those?" Harry asked.

Ku Lon nodded. "Ranma, if you please?"

Ranma picked up the still steaming kettle and lifted it above her head. She began to pour the water out. Harry watched in fascination as the water left the pot steaming and froze into an icicle before hitting the ground.

"I pushed myself during the fight with Saffron. He was a being of pure fire. My teacher over here," she nodded to Ku Lon, "had taught me a technique that changes your ki into cold."

"The Soul of Ice."

"Right," said Ranma, "That one. Anyway, I used it in a way it had probably never been used to survive that battle. After that battle, my ki was always cold, no matter what. I have to consciously think diverting a small part of my ki to keep a layer of warmth at my skin, or I start to freeze to things."

She pointed to Ku Lon and herself. "One theory we have is that hot water can't reach my skin to change me back because of my unique… condition." She paused. "The other theory is that it is just the magic of Jusenkyo."

"There is a reason the place is called the Pools of Sorrow." Ku Lon let out a sigh. "It is an ancient training ground, and nobody knows the true history of its creation. But, we do know that it was made to test you and that through that testing you would grow stronger."

Ranma nodded. "That's what I believe anyway. I believe that I won't be able to change back until I grow enough in this body to overcome whatever it is that magic is doing to me."

"Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been trapped like that now?"

"Sixteen years, three months, two weeks, one day, fourteen hours and fifty four minutes. Not that I'm counting, or anything."

* * *

Ranma sat down next to Harry as he sat on the challenge log in the middle of the village clearing.

"How are you taking it?"

"Better than I thought I would be. I mean, I just learned I've been pining for a woman who's really a man."

"Yeah, well… I can't say I didn't try and stop you."

"You could have just said you were a lesbian. I would have been cool with that."

"Technically, it really isn't far from the truth."

Harry nodded, continuing to stare off into space. "Have you ever…?"

"With a guy?" Ranma asked.

Harry nodded.

"No. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever."

Harry stuck out his hand. "Alright, then. Friends."

"Friends."

Harry grinned impishly. "If you ever change your mind…"

"Go to hell, Harry."

They both started laughing, and neither stopped for a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

The next morning, Harry woke up to cheerful chattering in Chinese emanating from the dining area of the house. He dressed, stretched, and stumbled out of the guest room, making his way to the kitchen table. Ranma and Ku Lon were both there and dressed in fine silks; Ranma in red and Ku Lon in yellow. The old lady was busy tying bright blue ribbons around Ranma's biceps, calves, thighs, forearms, and ponytail. Ku Lon already had similar red ribbons tied around her arms and hair, although he couldn't tell if anything was tied around her legs. That was partly because she wore flowing robes, and party because she was balanced on the on the tip of her staff, concealing her legs under her garments.

Harry noticed that Xian Pu was similarly attired in white silks and bedecked with purple ribbons. Xian Pu had woven a purple ribbon into her braid. Mu Tsu was attired as normal: he simply served breakfast, putting bread, fruit, and juice on the table as the women fussed about the knots and mobility.

"What," Harry asked as he sat down with Mu Tsu, "is going on with the ribbons?"

Xian Pu piped up, "Is festival! We gets chance beat up Ranma!" She giggled. "Is too too fun!"

"So you have to get dressed up do to that?" Harry shook his head.

Ku Lon snorted. "Forgive her. Her English is terrible."

Ranma whispered conspiratorially to Harry, "so is her Japanese."

Xian Pu stuck out her tongue; Ku Lon just rolled her eyes and tied the last ribbon around Ranma's arm with a bit more force than necessary, eliciting grumbles from Ranma.

"Hush, child, you deserve far worse than that." Ku Lon turned back to Harry. "What she means is, when ever an Amazon sister returns from extensive travels abroad, the warrior women have an opportunity to test her strength, as well as give the warrior to a chance show her new skills before the entire village."

"So what are the ribbons for?" Harry asked.

"The ribbons are targets for attack and defense." Ranma said. "It's a simple game of keep away. I have to take their ribbons while keeping mine intact."

"Oh, so like flag football? They just have to rip the ribbons off?" Harry asked.

"Except a whole lot more violent. This is an anything goes brawl. It is easier just to knock the person out so that you can undo the knots at your leisure."

"How many people do you have to fight?"

Ranma smiled. "Every female in the village."

Harry's eyes widened. "Sequentially, I hope?"

"Nope! At the same time." Ranma smiled. "This is gonna be great!"

* * *

Harry was a bit at a loss when he followed the women out of the house after breakfast. Nearly one hundred and fifty women, all carrying various degrees of weaponry, were assembled in the main square of the village. The most common form of weaponry was a dull bashing instrument; however, Harry noted that many of the women carried swords, bo staffs, bladed spears, or bows, along with some other unidentified instruments of war. Men milled about on all sides; Harry saw flashes of silver and gold rapidly changing hands.

"What are they doing?" Harry pointed to the largest cluster of men that seemed particularly active.

Ranma laughed. "They're betting. This sort of even doesn't happen often, so it's an excuse for all sorts for behavior."

"What are they betting on?"

"How long I last before I get taken down." Ranma seemed rather amused by the prospect.

"So, if I wanted to make money, what way should I bet?"

"'Gainst hundred fifty so Amazons?" Ranma scratched her chin. "For me to win."

* * *

Ranma split off from the party shortly afterwards, followed by Xian Pu. Ku Lon, however, guided Harry to a log and beckoned him to sit. She told him she would be back shortly; as the village elder, it was her duty to start the ceremony, but she wouldn't be participating unless Ranma had no more opponents to fight.

Harry sat and watched as Ku Lon bounced her way out to the middle of the circle, balancing on the end of her staff the whole time. She raised her voice: Harry couldn't tell what she said, but the mood suddenly became much more serious. Ranma bowed once to Ku Lon, then once time in the four cardinal directions. She was the only one wearing red; the rest of the women wore bright but light colors. The women assembled all bowed one time before hoisting their weapons and taking up ready stances. Ranma, weaponless, simple stood in her relaxed posture that Harry recognized from all the training he did with her.

Ku Lon raised her hand and bounced out of the circle. She dropped her hand, the signal for the "festival" to begin. The Amazons let out a throaty cry and spread out, creating a large circle around Ranma, who stood in the same relaxed posture. The archers in the group fire the first shots, attacking from all angles. At the same time, the first row of Amazons rushed in, hoping to capitalize on the openings the arrows might create.

Harry couldn't follow what happened, but to his eye it appeared that the four or five Amazons rushing Ranma tripped and ran into each other, knocking themselves out cold. Ranma didn't appear to move at all. The remaining Amazons surged as a mass, and Harry lost sight of the red silk clad Ranma.

Ku Lon cackled.

"What just happened? How did she avoid that?"

"Most of these girls don't stand a chance. The ones up front are cannon fodder, little more than an attempt to slow Ranma down or maybe get in a lucky shot." She pointed to a rapidly growing pile of unconscious women that were dragged out of the melee by compatriots. "Ranma's too fast for them. She moves faster than the untrained eye can see. With a slight misdirection, she forced the women to attack each other, and it looks like she never moved."

Harry said nothing.

The festival continued unabated. Flashes of red would appear randomly with in the mass of women before disappearing, each time accompanied by yet another unconscious warrior.

Ku Lon cleared her throat. "There is a third theory of why Ranma is locked, but we do not discuss that around her."

"Oh, why's that?"

"She becomes… irrational and violent."

Harry blanched at the thought. "Oh."

Ku Lon nodded. "The theory that we Elders hold to be true is that Jusenkyo is more than a training ground – it is a testing ground. It is designed to be the hardest testing ground in the world. The pools choose the curse, and you have no control over that."

Her statement was punctuated by the loud thump of a body hitting the ground not far away. A rather stocky Amazon had been flung clear of the circle, clearly unconscious and bereft of her ribbons.

"The pools choose the curse that is… most appropriate for the person. We cannot know their rationale behind the choice, but it is often the curse that would be hardest for the bearer to accept. However, acceptance of the curse is perhaps the most crucial part of the training, because there can be no progress without acceptance."

Ku Lon pointed a finger at the flash of red that appeared briefly on the outside of the rapidly thinning numbers of women. "Ranma has never accepted that a new person was born sixteen years ago. That person is no longer Ranma, male heir to a martial arts legacy, but rather Ranma, half man, half woman, and a person of so much more potential. That person is as much a woman as I am, even if only part of the time." Ku Lon chewed her lip thoughtfully before continuing.

"Ranma has had an interesting and troubling past. Interesting, but cursed, both from the pools and in love. Cursed to always have a challenging life, never to be normal. Cursed to always strive to be the best, regardless of the sacrifice. She is the queen of unrequited love. Her own love for her departed fiancée, and the unrequited love of suitors of both sexes. It is not her ki that is frozen, but rather her own capacity to love, her capacity to accept her curses and overcome them. She struggles against a destiny from which she cannot escape."

Harry frowned. "Destiny? I really don't like that word. I've had a lot of bad experiences with it myself."

"As do many great people."

"If by 'great people' you mean 'unlucky sods,' then yeah, I would agree with you. Destiny can be changed, you know."

"Only so much. The harder you fight against it, more it attempts to force you to your path, and the worse the backlash."

Harry said nothing for a while, preferring to concentrate on the fight. Nearly half of the women were now unconscious. When he finally did speak again, he chose a different tact. "So, why do you tell me this?"

"She needs help finding love. She has not found it in sixteen years. I believed at one point she was close to acceptance, but the death of her fiancée destroyed the progress she had made."

Harry asked, "you got a pen on you?"

Ku Lon was startled. "A what?"

"A pen."

"Why?"

"So I can sign my will. Your request is a death wish."

Ku Lon smiled at that. "At least you have a sense of humor. You will need one. Let me ask you a few questions."

Harry glowered. "Okay."

"Is she your friend?"

"Of course."

"Is she attractive?"

"Except for the fact that Ranma could tear my balls off and feed them to me through my rectum, very much so."

"Would you want to see her happy?"

"Not if meant breaking her."

Ku Lon harrumphed. "I would have never suspected a mage of questioning the magical power of love."

Harry shook his head. "Never. It's the strongest magic, but also the most unpredictable, and certainly the hardest to manipulate." He pointed to the direction of the Jusenkyo valley. "I can feel it from here, Ku Lon. It's like… like a gentle caress, inviting me in. It's seductive and manipulative. That is not the magic of love. That's something else, something far more sinister."

"True. Jusenkyo is not the place of love, but the place of harsh lessons. It is not an easy mistress. I believe that before the springs will release the lock placed upon her, she will have to accept who she is and what she is. She denies everything about herself except her love of the Art. Single minded devotion to the Art is commendable, but the purpose of the Art two fold - development of the person in addition to the development of technique."

"I don't think I can help you."

Ku Lon shrugged. "I didn't even tell you what I wanted."

"No, but I can guess. You want me to try and date Ranma."

"That would be silly. How did you phrase it? Oh yes, I believe it was, 'tear your balls off and feed them to you through your rectum.' Very appropriate image."

"Thanks." Harry smiled wryly.

"No, young mage. I would ask you to teach Ranma how to love again."

"Sorry, Ku Lon, but I think I used up all my love a long time ago."

"All the more reason you might be exactly the right person for this particular quest."

Ku Lon shifted her stance upon her staff. The number of women fighting Ranma had dwindled to single digits. They were the best of the remaining fighters, but it was plain to see that they would not prevail. "Looks like I might have to go in a bit sooner than expected." She smiled. "Ranma truly is one of the best warriors I have ever seen. I just wish she wasn't quite so single minded in her focus." With a nod to Harry, she made her way towards the center of the square.

* * *

The last Amazon hit the ground. Ranma stood in the center, panting heavily with a few cuts and tears in her clothing, but still had every ribbon in place. Ranma watched Ku Lon warily as she slowly bounced her way past the previous fighters and balanced on her staff only a few meters away from her. Without a word the two disappeared, only to re-appear a fraction of a second later, having exchanged places. Ranma landed in a crouch, idly twirling one red ribbon around her finger.

"You've gotten slower, old bat."

Ku Lon narrowed her eyes as she felt her hair flowing freely in the wind. "Or you've gotten faster, Ranma."

"Could be. Ready for round two?"

Again the combatants disappeared. This time, however, Ranma came crashing down to the earth, creating an impact crater in the ground. Ku Lon stood on the rim, carefully tying her hair back with a blue ribbon.

Ranma leaped out of the crater and smirked. "That hurt a bit, ya know."

"Damn! It was supposed to hurt a lot!"

The two grinned wickedly at each other. This is going to be very entertaining.

* * *

Ranma grimaced as she blocked yet another blow from Ku Lon's staff with her forearm in order to slide a kick in through her guard. Unfortunately, the old hag had anticipated the blow and shifted to the side, allowing Ranma only to score a glancing blow off her rib cage and leaving off balance with her guard open. She got clobbered by a mean left hook as a result, whipping her head around and nearly dislocating her jaw. She used the momentum to spin her body and sweep Ku Lon's staff out from under her, catching the old woman in the air. A savage palm strike to the chest was blocked, but the force behind the blow was still enough to cause the elder to slide to a rest many meters away.

Ku Lon had two ribbons left to Ranma's one.

At this rate the old bat was going to win. Ranma was the more tired of the two due to all the previous fighting. Sure, she was able to take down the Amazon women, but it took a lot of power, speed, and ki to be able to do so and still be in decent shape to fight Ku Lon. In a war of attrition, she'd lose. She'd been channeling her ki much longer than Ku Lon and just didn't have the reserves left for a long battle.

Ki.

Wait a second. Ranma's focus turned inward as her body went into auto pilot for the next exchange. She almost got creamed as a result, and was forced to leap away before Ku Lon could close again, creating some distance.

Ki. She'd lose in a pure battle of Ki at this point, but magic…

With a grin she tapped her forearm bracer where her wand was stored. Concentrating on Ku Lon's staff, she opened her hand and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Ku Lon squawked as her staff suddenly shot into the air with her still attached. Ranma used the opportunity to land a square kick to the stomach, pulling free one of the two ribbons remaining on the old woman's legs as she knocked Ku Lon to the ground. Her staff remained in mid air, suspended above the ground by about 10 feet.

Ku Lon slowly got to her feet, clearly shaken by the blow. "Clever! Is that what you've been learning from your mage friend?"

"Yeah. That, and this!" Ranma yelled out, "Kachu Tenshin Amaguri Ken Revised - Stupify!" She launched into her signature move, hands moving faster than the speed of sound to deliver nearly one thousand punches in the space of a second. However, this time she wasn't trying to punch - she pointed her index fingers at Ku Lon and attempted to force as much magic out of her fingertips as possible in the form of a simple stun spell.

The result caught them both by surprise. Ku Lon was suddenly faced with a wall of marble sized stunners flying at her at the speed of sound. She desperately executed her own speed technique, trying to deflect as many as possible. Too many still got through, and though one in and of itself was inconsequential, the sum total of the stunners nearly knocked her cold. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath and desperately channeling ki through her body to try and counteract the draining effects of the stunners.

Ranma was forced to her knees for a different reason. The drain on her ki reserves, coupled with the sudden burst of magic, was much greater than she anticipated. She felt nauseous and feeble, gratefully taking a knee while struggling to keep from collapsing.

The two combatants stared at each other, neither able to stand.

Ku Lon chuckled, a dry, rasping chuckle that quickly spiraled into a cough. "Neat… trick, Ranma."

"Thanks. Just thought of it."

"First to stand wins the match?"

Ranma nodded. The two crouched on the ground gasping for breath. With her left hand, she pulled her wand out of her forearm guard and slowly transferred it to her right hand.

"Looks like I win this one, elder." She pointed the wand at Ku Lon. "Petrificus Totalus!" The blast was weak but did the job. Ku Lon gave a grunt and keeled over, locked in a kneeling position. Ranma felt completely drained, but at least now she could take her time recovering.

About fifteen minutes later Ranma was finally able to stand, although shakily. She wobbled over to where Ku Lon was still locked in a kneeling position and carefully untied the last remaining ribbon.

"Thanks." She bowed. "Great match. Best I've had in years." She undid the binding spell on Ku Lon and promptly fainted.

* * *

Harry staggered out of the village, squinting at the pale morning light, nursing the mother of all hangovers. The feast that followed that evening after Ranma's victory over Ku Lon was more of a Bacchanalian revival then Harry thought he had ever been witness to, because after his defeat of Voldemort he had been unconscious for weeks at a time and hadn't been able to take part in the celebrations. He desperately wanted some water; he felt like he had swallowed a bale of cotton, and his stomach was queasy as well. To make matters worse, he was nursing a black eye, because for some strange reason the women had thought an appropriate celebration of their own battle would be liquor-up the men and encourage them to have a little martial arts competition of their own.

Competition might have been the wrong word for it. It was more of a drunken bar fight that broke out after some of the men and got into the mead and the stronger drinks that the village produced. Surprisingly, Harry had felt that he had given as good as he had gotten. He quickly became apparent that most of the men actually didn't know how to fight. Harry himself had only been training for a while under Ranma, but managed to give the man who had gifted him with the shiner a nice blow to the kidneys. He'd be pissing blood for a week.

Harry, at least, and they've been able to get a little bit of sleep before being roused by the still drunken Ranma to leave the village early the next morning. She had put all their gear in her backpack and staggered out of the village, heading towards the remains of Mt. Phoenix. The two of them trudged in silence as the early morning, sleepy, tired, and feeling the effects of the night of carousing. Neither spoke. They simply walked, muttering silently under their breath as they stumbled, always heading down the valley and closer to their destination. They walked for nearly three hours before Ranma finally stopped and flopped down on the ground.

Ranma dug a water skin out of her bag, and chugged a good portion of its contents. "Oh man, I feel like shit." She said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She handed the skin to Harry, who eagerly gulped down the remainder.

"Still drunk?" Harry lowered himself down to the ground gingerly. His headache had gotten better, but he still felt like two cents worth of dog meat.

"Can't tell." Ranma reached into her bag in and pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle, slowly undoing the folds it. She pulled out a small loaf of crusty bread and broke it in two, handing half to Harry. "I think so. At any rate, I don't think we will make it to Mt. Phoenix tonight."

"Why the rush?" Harry took a bite of bread chewing slowly. He took another sip of water to help washed it down before saying, "we could have spent the day in the village. At least we would have had time to recuperate."

Ranma waved her hand dismissively. "Are you kidding me? In the state I'm in, one of the guys from the village would have challenged me to a fight. I would have been honor bound to accept it."

"So?" Harry took another bite of bread. "What would have been so bad about that? You would at least have gotten to sleep."

"Remember I told you about their wonky marriage laws?"

"Yeah?"

"After yesterday's battle, if I had fought someone in my current state, I probably would have lost. If I have lost, by Amazon law I would have been forced to marry." Ranma picked up a small stone and tossed it down the hill. "I'm sure Ku Lon did her damnedest to make sure I was really inebriated last night. I think she probably slipped something into my drink, because that old hag wants to see me hitched."

Harry swallowed the chunk of bread he was chewing. "Why?"

"She has these crazy notions about what it would take to finally lift this lock on my curse." She stood back up and shouldered her pack.

"But why would you have to marry someone if you lost?"

Ranma shrugged. "Amazon tradition. If someone of the opposite sex is an outsider and you challenge them to a fight, if you lose, you have to marry the winner. It's their way of recruiting outside talent. That's how Xian Pu ended up as my fiancée." Ranma extended a hand to Harry, offering to help him to his feet.

"Yeah, but it is not like you ended up going through with it. You didn't marry her." Harry grabbed her hand and reluctantly stood.

"It wasn't from lack of trying. Trust me. The only reason we aren't hitched now is because I'm stuck as a woman. Believe me, if Xian Pu could, she would take me as her husband in a heart beat."

"Even though she's already married?"

"The Amazons are a polyandrous society. Women can have more than one husband."

"Ew."

Ranma grinned. "Not if you're the woman."

The two set off down the hill. In the distance, Harry could make out the mist rising of the Jusenkyo valley where the cursed springs were located. The tug of the magic was disorientating.

"What would be the consequence of just refusing to marry?" Harry asked.

"Besides being ostracized from the village?" Ranma gave a rueful shake of her head. "They would hunt me down to the ends of the earth, and either forced me to get married or try to kill me."

"But didn't you just prove that that you could beat the entire village? I mean, you were moving too fast for me to see what happened, but I was damn impressed. I've never seen anything like that."

Ranma laughed, genuine amusement apparent in her voice. "Thanks. I forgot you aren't used to such displays. We weren't trying to hurt each other. If they were trying to kill me, though, it would be a different story." The earlier amusement fading as she looked at her hands. "Be glad you've never been chased by a determined Amazon. It's either you, or them. I'd have no choice but to defend myself."

Ranma looked back to the village in the distance, watching the smoke from the cooking fires lazily drifting towards the horizon. "Eventually, they would either kill me or I'd have to wipe out the entire village to end the matter. Trust me - it's much easier to leave this way."

"Come on. We've got a while to go tonight, and I know where we can stop for rest." She trudged down the hill, not looking back as the village receded into the distance.

* * *

Ranma led them down the hill, swinging to the west and away from the center of Jusenkyo. The tug of the magic became less as they angled away from the valley center. But its presence was a constant reminder almost like a buzz in the back of his head whispering softly to Harry., Seducing and asking him to come.

"What it be faster to cut through the valley?" Asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Ranma, "but it's best to avoid using it if at all possible - we'll take a long road."

Conversation died and they continued to march silently for another couple hours. The forest grew up around them and Harry quickly lost track of which direction they were heading. Ranma stopped one more time for a quick break and a bite to eat before pushing on setting a fast pace that Harry was sure to feel in the morning.

Around dusk Ranma suddenly slowed and held up her hand. "We're getting close."

"To where?" Harry stepped beside Ranma.

"If are lucky, some old friends of mine are in the neighborhood and a be willing to put us up for the night."

A voice boomed from the shadow of the trees, "Who dares to enters the land of the Musk?" A ring of weapon clad warriors wearing a variety of animal skins stepped forward from the trees encircling the pair. Harry couldn't tell what it was about them but something about their appearance was unsettling. The fact that they were armed to the teeth and probably did nothing to assure Harry, either.

"They look real friendly."

"Trust me," Ranma whispered, "and let me do all the talking."

* * *

Sorry for not updating for a while, but life has been hectic (and illness hasn't helped) and I make no promises with this story. Also, be advised, that if book seven comes out and she kills off Harry, this story will be effectively dead in the water unless I can think of some creative way of magically reviving Harry. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I don't know when I'll write more, but after getting a cpu upgrade it might make it a bit better. Again, read, review, pass the word, what ever. I am still enjoying this story, and feel like I've gotten my muse back (just a bit, anyway.)

I'm currently fleshing out a story for a Ranma/Naruto cross that could be quite fun. I don't know if I should put this story on hold to write that, concentrate on the Ranma/Naruto fic, or do both at once.

Decisions, decisions.


	8. Chapter 8

-------

Chapter 8

Harry stumbled as he was roughly pushed into the prison cell and crashed to the ground, sliding to a stop against the far wall next to the Ranma. Unlike Ranma however, he only had his hands bound in front of him with rope, so he was able to break his fall. Ranma was didn't have that luxury, having been hogtied with her hands bound behind her back and clasping her ankles, forcing her into a back bend. Her pigtail had been pulled tight and tied around her hands, forcing her to look straight up and put further strain on her back. She was gagged. The guards picked her up and threw her bodily into the cell, causing Ranma to grunt as she landed on her stomach. One of the guards threw two blankets into the cell before slamming the door shut behind them. The guards laughed as they walked off leaving the two alone in their cell.

Harry pushed himself up into a sitting position and drew his knees to his chest as he leaned back against the wall.

"Nice friends you've got."

Ranma grunted and rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad I trusted you to do all the talking. I would hate to have been mistreated or anything." Harry didn't try to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Ranma just snorted in response. She rolled over so that she was on her side, facing Harry.

"hakedidfugginhahhouhmmmohf."

"What?"

"hakedidfugginhahhouhmmmohf!" Ranma crossed her eyes and looked down at her nose.

"Oh, right." Harry scooted over to his friend and reached behind her head, untying the gag and pulling it free.

"Gahh…" She spat out the dirty bundle of cotton. "I HATE it when they do that."

"Does this happen often?"

Ranma shrugged as best she was able to in her current position. "It really depends on who finds you. Some patrols are nicer than others." She squirmed a little bit. "Can you get out of your ropes?"

Harry nodded. He concentrated briefly, sending a bit of magic into the rope. The rope suddenly changed into a snake. "_Could you please unknot yourself_?" Harry hissed at the snake in parsletongue. The snake nodded and rapidly uncoiled from his hands. Upon hitting the ground, the snake then reverted back to rope, coiled in a lose loop on the cell floor.

Ranma watched with interest. "Neat bit of magic."

"Thanks." 

"Much easier than having to use your teeth."

"Yeah. A gift from Voldemort. I have an affinity with snakes. It does make it easier to get out of certain types of bindings. Rope is a piece of cake, but metal takes a bit more concentration. It's helped me on a few occasions."

"Could you help me then?"

"One second." Harry crouched behind Ranma and banished the ropes, freeing her. Several seconds later, Ranma was up and wandering around the cell, examining the door and walls. The cell was small – it was a slight rectangle, only slightly longer than it was wide, made out of thick stone masonry, and had no furniture. There was a small hole in a back corner that, judging from the smell, had to be the latrine. It only took Ranma four paces to traverse from front to back, and three from side to side. After a cursory examination, she grabbed a blanket and spread it out, lying down on the floor as far from the latrine as possible, but not in the way of the heavy iron-bound wooden door.

"Make yourself at home – this is our room for the night."

"Fantastic. Where do we call for room service?"

Ranma grinned. "I usually don't. It isn't included in the price of the suite, and they charge you an arm and a leg for stuff."

Harry rolled his eyes, spreading his bedroll on the ground next to Ranma. "What next?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep." Ranma closed her eyes and began to slow her breathing.

Harry spread out his blanket and lay down, staring at the ceiling. "Ranma?"

"Nnn?"

"So, what's so important about your last name, anyway?"

Ranma reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do I have to talk about this now?"

"I'm bored. Either talk now or I'll curse you with a hex that will turn all your boogies into bats."

Ranma looked at him askance. "What's a boogie?"

"They are commonly referred to as boogers."

"Eww." Ranma wrinkled her nose as the image played out in her head.

"Yeah, not pleasant, I assure you." Harry rolled over and propped his head up on his left hand. So," Harry asked, "why did you abandon it?"

Ranma shrugged. "It was a matter of honor, really."

"I don't get it." Harry said. "How was honor tied to your name?

"Remember how I said I was engaged to multiple people?"

Harry grunted.

"Honor is a tricky concept in Japan. But, essentially it means that your actions can't make yourself or others look bad. Making others look bad brings shame upon them and lowers their standing."

"So how does that reconcile with being engaged to more than one person?"

"It didn't." Ranma rubbed her face. "It couldn't. I was screwed from the get go, but I tried to find a solution that minimized the loss of face to all parties involved. I was engaged to a Tendo as a contract between families before I was even born. My father arranged it with her father, and as such the Tendos had first claim to me. In order to appease their honor, I _had_ to marry a Tendo." Ranma sighed.

"Then how could you have other fiancées if you were engaged before you were born?"

"That is where it gets complicated." Ranma rolled over and propped her head on her hand to look at Harry. "You see, my father was a greedy man who couldn't comprehend the consequences of his actions. He used me when I was an infant to gain what ever temporary benefit he could. By the time his actions caught up with him, I had to deal with the repercussions."

"Repercussions?"

"My father instilled in me a strong sense of honor, even if he didn't have any himself. So, when he engaged me to multiple women, my honor demanded I find some way of appeasing everyone. The honor of the Tendo clan, the Saotome clan, and all the other families involved where wrapped up in who married Ranma. If I married anyone, I dishonored whoever didn't get to marry me, and if I married no one, I dishonored myself and everyone else. No matter which action I chose, the dishonor would be greater than any amount of honor I happened to preserve. It was the perfect trap."

"What happened?"

"I got caught by the trap and paralyzed. I didn't want to marry anyone, but by rights, I was honor bound to marry a Tendo. I was sixteen at the time, remember." Ranma flopped back down onto the stone floor. "I couldn't bring myself to make any decisions, so I strung everyone out indefinitely. The one person who I could have or would have married died. In the end, Akane's death gave me a way out. I finally realized that honor really didn't matter to me anymore, because I lost the one thing I cared about. So, I abandoned the family name and asked to be taken off the clan register."

"I don't follow." Harry said.

"Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting that not everyone knows how the system works." Ranma raised her palms into the air. "There is the clan on one hand, and the individual on the other." She gestured with her hands, showing the balance between the two concepts. "The honor of the individual is reflective of the honor of the clan and vice versa, but not always. A truly honorable person among a clan of thieves might have his personal honor untarnished, but it will not reflect back on the clan and change the clan's honor. Again, the honor of the clan can be tarnished by the actions of an individual if the deed is heinous enough."

"That seems rather… confusing. At least, I'm confused."

"So was I. To make a long story short, I was damned if I did and damned if didn't." Ranma laughed, releasing a short bitter burst of sound. "Since I couldn't marry Akane, I still had to marry a Tendo to uphold the honor of my clan, and theirs. But doing so would sully the honor of all the other clans involved, including my family, the Saotome clan."

Harry just shook his head. "So it was the Saotome name causing the problems?"

"Mostly. There were other issues, too. But, being stuck like this," she pointed at her chest, "gave me an out. I took it, as it was the only option available to me. I abandoned the clan name and asked to be removed from the registry – in essence, it was like I was never born. Sure, it pissed off a lot of people, but it meant that everyone involved except me got to keep their honor intact."

"Oh."

"Yeah, but since I no longer had a family to worry about anymore, my family was more that willing to make sure I took the fall to preserve everyone else's _precious honor." _Ranma practically spat the last two words.

"What did they do?"

"My father tried to kill me. My mother almost succeeded." She pulled up the right side of her shirt and showed him a half-inch wide scar that started on her back just below her last rib and wrapped around to her front hip. "She got me with the family honor blade while I was fending off my father in a fight. She nearly gutted me. She managed to hit my liver and spleen, and it took me a long time to recover. I would have died if Ku Lon and a local doctor by the name of Tofu hadn't helped me. As far as my parents know, I did die that day."

Harry blinked and looked for words. "And I always thought my life had sucked."

Ranma sighed. "My actions had some far reaching consequences. First, because Akane died and I was no longer a part of the Saotome clan, our family's school of martial arts was effectively dead. There was no heir. My father didn't have a shred of honor or decency in his body, but he couldn't forgive the offense to his school. Before my parents tried to kill me, the school's Grand Master Happosai forbade me from practicing the 'Anything Goes' school of martial arts any longer."

"Happosai?"

"That's the guy's name."

"How could he keep you from practicing his school?"

"He was much, much better than I was at that time."

"Oh."

Ranma nodded. "There was no way I could win a confrontation with him, so I had to give up everything I had ever worked for in my life." Ranma stared at the ceiling for a bit. "It was a traumatic month for me. I lost my fiancée, my manhood, my livelihood, and my reason for living. I was going to commit suicide just so that everyone could finally be happy, but my parents beat me too it by slicing me open."

Harry pulled back his own sleeves, showing Ranma his own scars. "Rock bottom isn't the best place to be."

Ranma grinned sardonically. "No, no it isn't."

"Who pulled you out of it?" Harry asked quietly.

"My rivals. Ku Lon. Xian Pu." Ranma's thoughts turned inward briefly. "Who pulled you out of it?"

"Ron. Hermionie. Tonks." He shrugged. "Mostly, though, it was because of my daughter. She was a newborn, and my friends wouldn't let me leave her behind."

"Depressed people are pretty selfish, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

Conversation died for a bit as they reflected on their own personal tragedies.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Harry pondered for a bit as the silence stretched. "You're still doing martial arts, though. Do you intend to re-claim your school?"

"Now I no longer care. I'm making my own school, free from the taint of either Happosai or my father."

The conversation died at that point. Harry just listened to Ranma breath, reflecting on her strength of character and processing the information from this latest insight into her life. The silence was not uncomfortable. Harry felt it was a necessary precaution, as both of them needed to carefully deal the difficult memories they had dragged up, digesting the feelings and rebuild their shields.

"Talking about my feelings ain't gonna help you into my pants, though." Ranma was grinning.

"Blow me." Harry grinned. "I'm not attracted to guys anyway, you dyke." Harry was amused. The response was so typical of his interactions with her – she always had to inject levity into an otherwise serious conversation. It also signified that she wouldn't talk anymore about it tonight. If he wanted any more information about her past, he'd have to bring it up later. He didn't mind though. With a bit of malicious glee, he hit Ranma with a silent bat boogey hex, smirking with satisfaction as she thrashed on the ground holding her nose.

"You shouldn't hold them in, Ranma. It just makes them squirm worse."

"FUG DOU, ARRY!"

-------

Morning found the two prisoners bleary eyed and miserable. Ranma didn't sleep well because of the occasional bat that would worm its way out of her nostrils due to Harry's hex. Harry hadn't slept well because he'd been roughed up as pay back for the hex. Ranma hadn't been gentle, but she had been careful to make sure she didn't cause any lasting damage. She just made certain that he wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably. Served the bastard right.

Strangely though, she felt… good. She had bottled stuff up for so long, and now finally she had a friend who had suffered as much as she had and still come out okay. She knew they both had some real issues, and realized they would probably be better off as individuals if they sought professional help. But, hey, take things one step at a time, right?

The guards served them a breakfast of stale bread just before sunrise. A guard opened the door to their cell after they had eaten and took them to a bathing facility. Bound behind a heavy iron grill, the facility was little more than a short hallway that led to a square stone room with no doors, a low wooden stool, a bucket, and a trough of cold water with a drain in the floor. There were no dividers – the idea was not to provide privacy but rather allow the guards to ensure their charges couldn't escape. The guards provided a coarse but clean towel and a sliver of soap each. They calmly deposited the prisoners in the bathing room and walked to the other side of the grill, lowering the gate and standing rigidly on the other side.

"Ladies first?"

Ranma stared at Harry with half-lidded eyes. "Keep your eyes front and you'll make it out of this with your genitalia attached."

Harry gulped and nodded. He turned and faced the guards, concentrating fully on keeping his eyes away from where he could hear Ranma undressing. The sounds of splashing and lathering quickly followed. It probably took Ranma no more than ten minutes to wash, but it felt like an eternity. He occupied his time by studying the walls and the guards. Their uniforms were simple tunics made of a dark cloth with a Chinese dragon embroidered on the back. Perhaps if he…

"I mean it Harry."

He snapped his head forward. So much for that idea. Soon enough Ranma tapped him on the shoulder and indicated it was his turn. The water was cold and the setting didn't encourage lingering. He soaped up, rinsed off, and dressed as quickly as possible. The cold bath did wake him up a bit, but he was still suffering from the poor night's sleep inflicted by Ranma.

When finished, the guards escorted them down the hall. Harry was surprised to find that rather than going back down towards the dungeon cell they had been housed in, they were led up to a long flight of stairs that climbed into the sunlight. They entered a small guard room before being escorted outside into the courtyard. Harry gawked as he took in the site of a grand Chinese style palace with immaculately manicured grounds.

Rather than the grand front entrance, the pair was escorted to a side gate, where they were led into the structure under a portcullis. Once through the entrance, the guards were switched. The palace guards looked just as animalistic as the previous ones, but their uniforms were a bit more ornamental in nature. Judging by the way Ranma eyed them though, Harry was sure they were just as effective in a fight regardless of how pretty they looked.

Walking single file with a guard between them, the pair was led to what Harry could only describe as a throne room. A three-tiered dais occupied the center of the hall, framed with elaborately embroidered silk hung from the ceiling. A man with yellow eyes and green shoulder pads sat on the dais, radiating power. He was flanked on either side by a very large, muscle-bound man with distinct tiger striping on his body, and a smaller man with a decidedly wolfish complexion. Harry looked over at Ranma who rolled her eyes.

The guards escorted them to the base of the dais and stopped. The two guards called out in stereo, "You are in the presence of the King of the Musk, Lord Herb. Show your respect!"

Ranma waved lazily at the man in the center. "Yo, Herbie."

Herb's left eye twitched.

The tiger stripped man stepped forward and growled, "I see you still have your death wish."

Ranma nodded. "Oh! Lime! Didn't see you there. How you doing, bud?"

Harry watched with growing trepidation as vein became clearly visible on Herb's head. The growling from the guards behind them and the two men flanking the lord of the Musk did little to re-assure him.

Herb rose from the throne and slowly walked towards Ranma, menace radiating off his body. He towered over her, nearly a foot taller than the red-head. "I should end your miserable existence."

Ranma smirked up at him. "You could try."

Herb's eyes narrowed. "You try my patience, wench."

"Yeah? Well, this hotel sucks. The room service was terrible. Don't even get me started about the bathrooms. Where's the manager? I want a refund."

"I'd forgotten how aggravating you are."

"I haven't had a good fight since arriving here, and frankly, I'm kind of bored." She shrugged, and gave an exaggerated yawn, closing her eyes and stretching her arms, blatantly disregarding the man in front of her.

Herb glared at her for a minute before turning to Harry.

"Who are you?" It wasn't a question, but rather a demand. Harry could tell that Herb fully expected Harry to tell him anything he wanted. Harry hadn't felt a gaze this used to controlling people since… well, since Voldemort, really. It was damn intimidating. And Harry hated people who tried to intimidate others.

"Harry." Harry smiled brightly.

"Why are you in my kingdom?"

Ranma jumped in. "We got lost on the way to way to Albuquerque. I think we took a wrong turn somewhere near…" She was interrupted by a blazing blue fist that went through her head.

At least, where her head had been a fraction a second ago.

Herb blinked and looked around, startled. He heard a "tsk, tsk" coming from behind him.

"Now Herb, is that anyway to treat a guest?" Ranma was still relaxed, unfazed by the Herb's attempt to flatten her.

Herb sniffed. "You've gotten better."

She nodded. "And you haven't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Easy. Your lackeys aren't willing to fight you."

Herb snorted and brushed by Ranma as he returned to the dais. He didn't talk again until he sat down, carefully staring at Ranma. He pointed at Harry. "Who," he asked, "is the weakling?"

Harry bristled. Maybe he couldn't fight like these freaks of nature, but he had his own strength. Channeling a bit of his anger into his magic, he grinned in satisfaction as Herb was suddenly hauled into the air by his ankle, suspended twenty feet above the floor.

His guards gasped. To Herb's credit, he didn't squawk or shout. He hung in mid-air, calmly evaluating the situation.

"You do not use ki to do this." Again, not a question.

"No."

Herb nodded. He furrowed his brows in concentration. "Not ki… I sensed nothing… A mage, then? Quite unexpected."

Harry shrugged. "Not where I'm from."

"Will you release me?"

Ranma interrupted. "Only if you promise not to pummel him. Or have one of your lackeys do it."

Herb nodded. "Fine." Harry slowly lowered Herb to the ground by his throne.

Herb caught himself on a hand as he was lowered, righting himself and sitting on his throne. "What brings you to my kingdom?"

For a change, Ranma was completely serious. "Saffron."

-------

The meeting was short. They briefly discussed Ranma's plans for the Phoenix Lord. Herb talked briefly about a proposition he had made to Ranma but didn't press the issue when she refused to answer. Before dismissing the pair, the Musk King bade them farewell and luck in their travels. Harry was confused – Ranma promised to explain when they left the palace.

They were led out of the palace grounds in the direction of they had been traveling before their capture. The guards didn't talk and didn't bother to answer questions, but Ranma wasn't terribly worried as her captors carried her belongings. She knew the Musk; if they were going to execute her, they wouldn't be going through the trouble of carrying all that stuff out to wherever they planned on dumping the bodies.

They were escorted for several hours until the guards stopped around mid-day. One of the escorts tossed Ranma's bag to her and handed Harry his shrunken backpack. Without ceremony, the guards turned around and followed their trail back, leaving the two standing in the middle of the woods. Ranma slung her pack over her shoulders began walking towards the mountains. Harry placed his shrunken belongings in his pocket and caught up.

"What proposition did Herb make?"

Ranma mimicked dry heaves. "He proposed to me."

"Proposed?"

"Yeah. As in marriage. He wanted me to be his queen." She shivered. "He's a creepy pervert."

"Why's that?"

"He knows I was a man. I think he finds that fact… titillating. I kicked his ass way back when and I still think he wants to get back at me for it. Since he probably couldn't beat me in a fight now..."

"So it's a power thing for him?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I think he just gets off on the idea that I'd have to be 'subservient' to him if I was Queen of the Musk. He also took great pleasure in telling me that one of my 'duties' would be to bear heirs. Having his children is wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to imagine it."

Harry stopped talking as Ranma picked up the pace. He could occasionally hear her muttering about "stupid dragon perverts" and "subservient my ass." Her muttering died down after a bit, though, and her pace slowed down as well. Harry enjoyed the opportunity to enjoy the woods and the companionship. The forests were much different than the woods he grew up with in England. The forest was composed of a weird mixture of hardwoods and conifers. There were elm trees here, something he had never seen. The mixed forest eventually gave way to a huge bamboo grove. About an hour into traversing the thicket, Ranma called a stop for lunch by a small stream.

Beyond the rustling of the leaves, there were very few sounds of wildlife in bamboo groves. It was serene. The ground was covered in a dense layer of beige leaves, further deadening the sound. Harry charmed some leaves into plates and a rock to put out a small smokeless fire. Putting on a tea kettle, he pulled out some food and plated it, passing it to Ranma.

"Ready for a magic lesson, Ranma?"

"Wha?" She was absent mindedly nibbling on a corner of the sandwich Harry had given her.

"Magic. Lesson."

"Oh, right. Yeah." Ranma put down her plate and pulled out her wand.

Harry shook his head. "You won't need that today. Today is going to be a magic theory class."

Ranma groaned.

"I should thank you really, as you are the inspiration for this particular bit theory." Ranma frowned.

"Before we can continue this lesson, we need to parse out a few definitions." Harry held up his fist and extended his fingers as he ticked off his points. "First, what is magic, and second, what is ki? Finally, how are they different, and how are they the same?"

Ranma shrugged. "You're the mage. You tell me what magic is."

"Humor me. I want your definition of magic."

"Hmmm…" Ranma looked lost in thought. "I guess… I'd say it's the ability for humans to control supernatural forces."

"Close, but I asked you to define 'magic,' not the art. What is '_magic_'?"

"Well, I guess magic would be the supernatural agencies or forces of nature that surround us." Ranma made an off handed gesture towards Jusenkyo.

Harry nodded. "What gives rise to those forces, Ranma?"

She shrugged. "I have no clue."

Harry nodded again. "Neither do I, nor any one else. However, for the sake of argument, let us say that magic is the desire of all matter to manifest the impossible."

Ranma mulled that over in her head. "Magic is the desire to manifest the impossible?"

"Yes." Harry stated. "Magic makes the impossible commonplace. Magic could also be described in terms of mathematics, or more accurately, probability."

"Why probability?" Ranma asked.

"Probability best describes the infinite chance occurrences that reality consists of. Think about life, for example." Harry reached up and plucked a leaf from a nearby bamboo branch, handing it over to Ranma. "That leaf exists because life evolved from single cell organisms billions of years ago. What gave rise to life in the first place? God? Something else?"

Ranma dropped the leaf. "I have a hard time believing in a god. Not after all the chaos I've been through in my life."

Harry shrugged. "Regardless of what you believe, something impossible happened at the beginning of time. A universe was born from nothing. Stars formed and gave birth to planets. A bunch of chemicals arranged themselves into the precise sequence necessary to give rise to proto-life forms, which then desired to become life."

Harry swept his arms out, taking in the scenery around them. "The fact that we are even alive to walk through it is absurd. It is only a one out of a trillion chance that you were born at all. Over one-billion people had to have had sex only thirty of generations to make you possible. It is impossible. Something had to make this happen. Science can't quantify it. Even the best theoretical physicists have incorporated a fudge factor when trying to figure out why stuff happens. Magic is the fudge factor that makes all this," Harry pointed at a tree, "possible."

Ranma wrinkled her nose. "Eww. I knew my dad got around, but one billion people?"

Harry laughed before continuing. "So, let us believe that magic is the collective desire of everything to manifest the impossible. Do you see a problem with the theory?"

Ranma snorted. "Yeah! What if your desires suck? What decides which desires get fulfilled?"

Harry clapped enthusiastically. "Right in one! Just because an earthworm desires to rule the earth doesn't mean that it should. So, magic has to have either a control or safeguard. Magic does this through _will. _The worm might desire it, but unless its will is strong enough to bend the improbability of magic to serve its desires, it won't happen."

Ranma nodded. "Make sense."

"So, then to extrapolate, magic is the will to control the improbable. Do you find this agreeable?"

Ranma nodded. "Sure."

"This brings us to her second point." Harry continued. "In order to continue, we need to define ki. So, what is ki?"

"That's easy. Ki is spirit energy."

Harry shook his head. "I need a more precise definition that than."

Ranma grimaced. "All right, ki is the life force of all living matter."

"Given what we just agreed upon about magic, how is ki different?" Harry asked.

"Well…" Ranma shrugged and pointed at the small stone that was currently sprouting fire from its top, bringing the kettle water to a boil. "Something inanimate, like this rock, can't get it no matter how much it might want it, and something that has it can't get rid of it unless it dies."

"So it has to be living?"

"Yes." Ranma nodded.

"Given that ki is possessed only by living things, what does ki do for things that possess it?"

Ranma grumbled briefly about the necessity to do all so much thinking. "It… sustains you. It shows that you are alive, it makes you alive. It can be used to augment existing abilities or makes new ones possible."

"If we had to talk about ki in terms of probability, where would you place it?"

"I dunno." She shrugged, clearly frustrated. What's the point of this exercise again?"

Harry held up his hands to placate her. "Bear with me. In terms of probability, would you say that ki is matter of chance?"

Ranma frowned. "No. You either have it or you don't. Life begets life. Ki does not begin spontaneously. You might not be lucky enough to be born, but if you are born, you'll have ki."

"And what about controlling your ki?" Harry asked.

"Most things don't, or can't, even. You have to consciously work at it to manipulate it."

"Is the strength of one's ki determined by size?"

Ranma nodded. "By and large. It takes more life force to keep a larger object alive, so larger creatures tend to have more. Some single celled organisms can super-saturate with Ki, but it's really rare. If you work at it enough, anything can super-saturate with ki, though."

"One final question, then." Harry paused. "Would you call ki the will to live?"

Ranma frowned. "I… well…" She shrugged. "I guess. It's more complex than that, though."

Harry nodded impatiently. "I know. But I need to dumb it down to highlight what I believe is the difference between magic and ki." Harry picked up the stone. It wasn't hot, even though the top half of it was still on fire. "This rock is infused with the potential for magic." He returned the stone, flame up, to its place under the kettle. "Even though it is not animate, it might desire to become so. However, because it is not living, it has no ki, and no matter of will can change that. One is firmly grounded in reality, the second completely eschews it."

"Great, I guess." Ranma shrugged. "That seemed like an awful lot of effort just to say living stuff has ki and rocks don't."

Harry shook his head. "I think it's an important distinction for what comes next. Even though this rock might be able to do magic, it is unlikely to happen because it has no will. We needed to do that to figure out the interesting part - how do they interact with each other?"

"I'm sure you've got a theory." Ranma waited expectantly.

"I have some suspicions, but honestly, you're the one who's going to have to figure it out. You're the only person I know who can access both ki and magic."

Ranma muttered.

Harry looked apologetic. "Sorry."

Ranma waved him off. "It's okay. So, what is your theory?"

"You made me think of it. If I hadn't cast a charm on this rock, why was the rock not spontaneously doing magic? What's preventing it from doing so? What's acting against it to keep it in check?"

Ranma mulled this over. "So you think something's keeping the rock from doing magic?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, I think so. I think that force is ki. Magic and ki are two forces in diametric opposition." Harry picked up a pebble and pressed it between his hands together as if in prayer. The pebble was trapped between his palms, fingers pointing to the sky. "On one side, the rock really wants to do magic, but on the other, something is pushing back and keeping the forces balanced, so in the end it is neutral. But," Harry paused and used the fingers of his right hand to push his left fingers back, "you exert a little will and suddenly magic becomes possible." He opened his hands and released a small bird into the air.

"Ying and yang. Opposites but equals." Ranma muttered, watched as the bird flew off in the direction they came. "But how does this balance magic? Magic has to exert an equal but opposite amount of force or otherwise it would quickly collapse."

"Magic takes will to manifest. Will is strongest in living creatures, and stronger still in sentient creatures. Consider magic and ki at the universal level. If you had a scale, the amount of inorganic matter floating through the universe vastly outweighs the amount of living matter. So, it acts like a universal weak force, like gravity. All things with mass have gravity, even if only an infinitesimal amount. The force might be weak on the small scale, but colossal on the wide scale."

"So, the entire universe depends on a weak force?"

"I think it depends on the interaction between forces. Magic might be analogous to gravity, but ki, on the other hand, must be an incredibly concentrated and powerful force on the small scale, but weak on the larger scale. It would probably be more like nuclear forces." Harry continued. "If you split an atom, it releases an incredible burst of energy. You can launch a rocket beyond earth's gravity with a relatively small amount of energy. But, gravity will have a much further reach than the explosion."

Ranma complained. "My head hurts. I thought you were going to teach me magic, not physics."

"They're related. The collective ki of all living creatures acts as a balance to the collective will of magic because it is so much more dense and… _willful._ Ki _is _will. Magic needs will to manifest. So, even though will makes manipulating magic possible, the relatively small scale of ki makes it difficult to overwhelm the force of magic. At the same time, because the force of magic is… dispersed, it can't concentrate enough to overwhelm ki."

"Interesting theory. So what exactly is today's lesson?"

Harry held up his hands, palm up. "Well, as I said earlier, magic is based on the _desire _to manifest the impossible. So, what happens if you have the most despicable desires possible, and a very strong will to accompany that?"

"Bad things, I take it." 

"Right. Dark Magic. Magic is neutral, like ki. It is not good or evil. It is the desires of the person using it that determines what sort of possibilities you create. So, if you desire to gain power, control, hurt or kill other people, magic makes that possible. That's why the four curses I told you about are unforgivable."

Ranma nodded.

"You said once that emotions affect the strength of your ki, right?"

"Well, emotions just make it easier to channel. Pure ki is stronger than emotionally charged ki."

"Another difference. Pure magic is strong but easily countered. Magic strengthened and shaped desire and emotions you use to power the spell. The emotion determines the characteristic of the spell, while the intensity of the desire determines the strength. Strong emotions, like hate, anger create very powerful, very destructive spells."

"What about love." Ranma asked?

"Love," Harry stated, "is the strongest magic of all."

Ranma started at Harry for a few seconds in complete silence. She promptly socked him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY THAT BEFORE ALL THIS GOBBLEDYGOOK?"

Harry stared up at her in shock, nursing his jaw. "Jeeze. When did you get so violent?"

Ranma looked ready to tear into him again. She opened her mouth to scream and promptly settled back on her heels. She reached a hand down and helped pull Harry to his feet. "I must be getting my period or something."

"You know, if you want to convince me you're really a guy, telling me about your periods is not the best way of doing it."

"Can it, would you?" Ranma muttered.

The kettle began to whistle above the flaming stone.

"Tea?" Harry offered.

"Sure."

The pair sipped their tea, not talking again until Ranma broke the silence. "Sorry. Sometimes theoretical crap really frustrates me. It helps, but you could have just explained it the easy way."

Harry grinned weakly. "Ah… Um… sorry? Guess I've been hanging around Hermione too long."

"The mousy hair girl, married to the red-head?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. And I thought she was a nice girl."

Harry snorted. "She is. She's just passionate about understanding things."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I knew a person like that once. Except she liked to use the information to black mail me. Drove me batty."

Harry said nothing.

"Let me ask you a question, then. If magic and ki are diametrically opposed, does that mean it's a futile attempt to try and master both? Should I just be a martial artist, and should you just stick to being a mage?"

Harry pondered this for a bit. "I don't see why you couldn't master both. I just said the forces oppose each other. They create balance. Take us, for an example."

"What do you mean?"

"The first time we met in Slovakia. I hit you with magic that, had you been a normal person, would have incapacitated you. However, due to your abnormally high levels of ki, you were able to shrug them off."

"So?"

"I'm pretty sure I could use magic to nullify your strongest attacks, as well. Balance." Harry shrugged. "You can physically kick my ass, but there are spells that could beat you before you even had a chance to fight. No matter how strong you are, you can't beat a Killing Curse."

Ranma frowned.

"Remember the screaming portrait at the house when you were remodeling?"

Ranma nodded.

"You couldn't tear it off the wall, no matter how strong you were, right?"

Again, Ranma nodded.

"The basic charm to do that is a simple charm that requires very little power. Some people who are barely magical can manage it. And yet, no amount of ki could overcome it."

Ranma looked like she sucked on something sour. She stood up and walked away from the stream, hands clasped behind her back.

"What's wrong?"

Ranma sighed. "It's just…" She stopped. When she finally started talking again, Harry was shocked to see the amount of pain in her eyes. "I've been working all my life to be the strongest martial artist in the world. Now you're telling me that any idiot with a stick and enough willpower can beat me no matter how skilled I might be." Her face sagged. "It's a little hard to deal with having your worldview destroyed."

Harry stood up and walked over to her. "I'm in the same boat, Ranma."

She looked up at his face, noting the concern. "Yeah, I guess you are."

"But now that we know, we can correct the problem, right?" Harry tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at it but didn't say anything.

"We should get going." With that, she turned around, forcing Harry to drop his arm.

-------

They marched for a few more hours before the bamboo thinned considerably. Mt. Phoenix loomed large in front of them.

"So, where are we going again?"

Ranma pointed to the top of the mountain. "Up there."

"All the way up?"

She nodded. While Ranma still seemed to be upset, as still hadn't talked since lunch beyond simple one or two word answers. The pair took off at an easy walk, heading for the foot of the mountain.

-------

The hike was brutal. Harry was in much better shape now than he ever had been, but after six hours of climbing, it was about all he could do to go further. They were about halfway up the face of the mountain and night was approaching.

Ranma led them to a ravine on the slope that had a relatively small, flat clearing inside. "We'll camp here."

The two went about setting up camp rather quickly. Harry set up his tent with a flick of his wand. Ranma began setting hers up as well, but it would take her considerably longer since she had to unpack the poles necessary. Harry began prepping dinner, first summoning pots, pans, and cooking utensils. With a simple charm he summoned water and filled up the largest pot, setting it to boil. The vegetables peeled themselves while the chicken slowly shed its own skin with a slow strip-tease.

The preparations had the desired effect on Ranma. She watched the chicken carcass roll the skin off its thigh like a garter and snorted. She finally burst out laughing as she watched the now skinless chicken carcass slowly ease its way into the boiling water, acting like a delicate lady stepping into her bathtub.

"Feeling better?"

She nodded. "Thanks."

Harry just nodded. "Wanna talk?"

"Yes and No." Ranma shrugged. She watched the chicken bathe in the pot, using a peeled carrot like luffa to scrub its own back.

"Let's start with the yes first, then."

Ranma closed her eyes. "It's just… Hard, ya know?" Salt and pepper hovered over the pot, gently seasoning the broth. The chicken seemed to enjoy the attention, rubbing the spices into its flesh. Ranma pointed at the simmering dinner. "That pretty indecent to watch, you know?"

Harry smirked. "I wanted to get you out of your funk."

"Thanks."

"So, why is it hard?"

Ranma stared into the fire. "My whole life, I had a moron defining who I was and what I was supposed to be. Then, bit by bit, everything has been taken from me. First my ability to choose, then my identity, my gender, and now…" She made a fist. "The Art was all I had left of my former self. I know I'm strong, but now I realize that I have a glaring weakness. What if that gets taken from me, too?"

"It won't." Harry said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm here to help you."

They fell silent. The chicken tapped its right wing approximately where its wrist should have been, indicating that dinner was ready. Harry pulled out the plates. "What do you like – breasts, thighs, or legs?"

"I'll take the thigh, please." The chicken saluted her and promptly removed the request portion of meat and held it up to her plate. A generous portion of vegetables leapt from the pot as well into an artfully arrangement around the meat. Ranma snorted. She glanced down at her chest. "The irony of it all is, I was always a breast man, myself."

Harry nodded sagely. "Breasts are nice, but nothing beats a nice pair of thighs, though."

"I can't believe we're having this conversation."

Harry shrugged. "Why not?"

"I'm a girl, remember?"

"I thought you said you were I guy?"

"I am, and don't you forget it." Ranma attempted to look cross but failed.

"So, I can't shoot the shit with my pal about women?"

"It just seems… weird."

"Oh, and a gender-bending curse and a self-serving chicken is normal?"

Ranma smirked. "Okay. Point taken." She took a bite of chicken. "Good chicken." The now legless chicken attempted to bow but fell over into the stew. Ranma laughed. "Yeah, thighs are nice…"

The conversation devolved from there. By the time Ranma crawled into her tent, she was in a much better mood.

-------

Ranma was already up and had packed away her tent well before sunrise. She was already mostly done cooking breakfast by the time Harry crawled out of his tent. The two ate a quick and silent breakfast and broke camp, continuing the hike.

"We should be there by noon."

Harry nodded.

-------

"Lord Saffron, Lord Saffron!"

Saffron looked up from his reading to see an Imperial Guardsman swooping into his aviary. When the soldier made his report, the color drained from his face. He dropped his book and took to the air, heading for the audience chamber.

-------

Harry and Ranma were marched down the carpet towards Saffron's throne, surrounded by a cadre of heavily armed guards. The walls of the hall were lined five deep with soldiers the length of the walkway, each soldier alert, armed with bows and weapons at ready. Nervous tension filled the air as the pair of humans marched towards the throne.

Harry took in his surroundings as best he could. The Phoenix people were certainly a surprise. Finding an entire race of winged humans that shouldn't exist was exciting, to put mildly. Besides the obvious avian influences like talons and wings, they seemed fairly normal and intelligent. They clearly had to be able to fly magically, as the wingspan was not enough to actually generate the necessary lift for a human to fly. Harry idly wondered if it would be better than flying on a broom, and what the top speed they could achieve in flight was. Hermione would have a field day with these people.

Ranma had walked calmly into the mountain and made no sudden movements, but hadn't slowed at all after identifying herself to the sentry. She had mentioned that Saffron might be expecting her. Nobody attempted to stop her entrance, but as they got closer to the audience chamber the number of guards had swelled.

Even though Ranma had told him what to expect, he had been caught off guard when the first soldier had swooped out of the air to confront them at the entrance to the mountain. The amount of panic that Ranma's name generated really put Harry on edge. Nervous people made stupid mistakes, and with the amount of weaponry present meant that there was a good likelihood that he could be on the pointy end of a sword.

Nothing ruined Harry's day faster than pointy things.

The Phoenix were at as much of a loss trying to figure out Harry as he was with them. He was observed carefully. They knew that Ranma was a danger to their people, having proved it before in a rather… violent fashion. Harry was an unknown, and as such, had to be treated as being equally dangerous as Ranma, if not more so.

The pair stopped ten paces from the throne. The person that Harry assumed was Saffron stood. He looked young and vibrant, almost like a teenager. His face was still soft, but Harry could see the hardness coming forth as he approached maturity. His plumage, if it could be called that, was shockingly white and highlighted with a brilliant crimson, giving him the appearance of a being of flame. From Ranma's discussions, that wasn't far from the truth.

"Saffron." Ranma bowed not taking his eyes of the young Phoenix in front of him. Ranma turned to Harry. "My companion, Harry Potter."

Harry bowed, mimicking Ranma's motions.

"Ranma." Saffron's statement was solemn, accompanied by a slight bow of the head. He regarded Harry coolly, giving the faintest nod of the head. "Harry Potter." He stepped away from the throne. His wings spread out until his wingspan was just over twelve feet. With a slight hop, he jumped off the ground and sailed lightly to the ground a few paces away from Ranma.

The wings vanished with a slight hiss. Harry noted that Saffron wasn't particularly tall, but he was certainly very regal.

"To what," Saffron began, "do I owe this distinct… _pleasure_?" His tone was pleasant. Harry, briefed on what had occurred the last time these two met, caught the uncertainty in the Phoenix's voice. The assembled guards did too, as there was nervous shifting around the hall.

"I came…" Ranma stood up straight, "because your transformation is due soon."

Saffron looked shocked. He nodded. "It is."

"I want…" Ranma shook her head. "I want to ensure that there is no repeat of the last attempt."

Harry could see the tension leave Saffron's body as he understood. "I… am sorry for my role in… past events." He seemed to struggle with words, settling for a simple, "I'm sorry."

Harry heard gasps from all around the room.

Ranma nodded. Harry noticed that her eyes seemed a little moist.

Saffron shifted his weight. "May I show you something?"

Ranma nodded.

"Please," Saffron swept a hand to an opening past the throne room. "If you would follow me?"

The pair moved to follow, but the guards shifted nervously. Saffron looked at a white-winged female in the group. "They are free to move about, Kiima. Release them."

The warrior bowed. The ring of guards encircling the pair drifted away.

"Please," Saffron gestured again, "this way."

-------

The walk was long. Saffron led them down a tunnel that led into the heart of the mountain. The few attempts at conversation were painfully awkward, so all three parties gave up after a few tries. They were finally led to a large chamber in the middle of the mountain. As they exited the tunnel, Harry saw two large statues, one of a dragon, and the other, a phoenix, attached to the wall above a large basin that was ringed on all sides by a short wall with an ornate mosaic of a rising phoenix in the middle. The statues themselves were easily fifty feet tall each, and the basin was about the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The room screamed grandeur.

Ranma stopped. "You rebuilt it?"

Saffron nodded. "I'd like to show you one more thing." He walked towards the basin. "This way." He walked to the wall and stepped over. There were steps on the opposite side of the wall. Saffron walked down until he was chest deep in the basin. Ranma followed.

"What am I looking fo…" She stopped at the top of the wall, stunned.

"Ranma, are you alright?" Harry caught up to her. He followed her gaze to the floor of the basin, where second mosaic was embedded in the floor. A picture of a beautiful dark-haired woman took up most of the floor of the pool. What looked like lettering or characters were embedded in retaining walls.

Harry turned to look at Ranma. Tears were streaming down her face. "Ranma?"

"Akane…"

Harry looked back at the pool.

"She was beautiful."

Ranma nodded. She walked down the stairs to join Saffon in the pool. He was gently trailing his hands along the retaining wall, tracing each series of characters reverently, tears on his face as well. "Names of the Phoenix that died that day and subsequently."

"I'm sorry." Ranma choked out.

Saffron nodded. "Me too. Arrogance. Foolish pride." He let out a sigh. "It was not worth this many of my people. It was not worth the life of yours."

Ranma nodded. "No, it wasn't." She looked around. "This is very pretty. Why?"

Saffron looked around. "I wanted to be reminded of why I do this to remain… humble. My memories from that day are not as clear as I would like, but I know that I prevented you from saving your loved one out of spite. Those are not the actions of a compassionate ruler."

Ranma stepped up to him hesitantly. Her face was still wet with tears. "I was pretty dumb, too." She took one final look around. "How soon will you use this?"

"Not long now. We are gathering the necessary food for the transformation now."

Ranma's eyes widened. "You're not…"

Saffron shook his head. "Cows."

"Oh."

Ranma turned and walked up the stairs. Harry followed and Saffron brought up the rear. They left the chamber and headed to the tunnel.

"Thank you." Ranma whispered.

Saffron nodded. "It was the least I could do."

-------

On the way back, Harry listened in fascination as Saffron described the transformation process. The un-cursed water from Jusenkyou, both in hot and cold varieties, would fuel Saffron's metamorphous into the phoenix lord.

"So the water is charged with magic, but has no curse yet?"

"Correct."

Harry rubbed his chin. "Do you think it would be possible to get a sample of both? Hot and cold?"

Saffron agreed, but asked, "To what purpose?"

"Research." He pointed at Ranma. "She stuck."

Saffron pursed his lips in thought. "I didn't realize. How long have you been… in this condition, Ranma?"

"Since that time."

"Ah…"

-------

Harry capped the hot water thermos and cast a preserving charm to keep the contents hot. He labeled the thermos and moved to the cold water tap, taking a liter sample of the cold water as well. Again, he cast a preservation charm and carefully labeled the thermos, and put both samples back into his bag.

Saffron called out from above, "Please vacate the pool and move as far away as possible. I will be flying down shortly, and the process will start with contact to the water."

Harry nodded and climbed out of the pool. He joined Ranma across the room as several Phoenix led cows down the stairs into the basin. Saffron turned the taps built into the statues on full blast, beginning to fill the basin with water. A few cows bellowed nervously.

Saffron swooped down, alighting on the mosaic of Akane. He waved to the pair. With the first contact with the water, sticky tendrils shot of his body, searching for the nearest source of food. The cows bellows were soon quieted.

Ranma pulled on Harry's sleeve. "Come on. We should go now."

Harry nodded, watching as the water rose and Saffron spun his cocoon.

"Yeah."

-------

Harry readied the portkey. "You okay?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah." She looked up at the top of Mt. Phoenix, where steam could be seen pouring out a vent in the bath chamber Saffron was using. "Yeah, I think I am."

"Harry?"

The wizard looked up from the portkey. "Hmm?"

"Thanks."

Harry smiled. "Thank you for trusting me to see this." He held up the feather Saffron had given them before he transformed. "Ready?"

Ranma nodded.

"Let's go."

-------


	9. Chapter 9

London

-----

"You cool down and stretch for a bit, Harry. I'd like to just run through a couple of forms." Harry nodded and pushed his glasses back up his nose. She watched him move to one corner of the dojo as she took the center of the floor. She was warm from running Harry through a couple of hours worth of kata and the same amount of sparring, but she felt the need to practice for herself for a bit.

With a breath, she centered herself and let go of her extraneous thoughts, launching into the first kata of her old family's school. She might not have the right to teach them, but she could still practice. The school's motto was, after all, "anything goes."

From the very first moment everything felt… right. Powerful. Fluid. In control and yet… Breath, move, inhale, extend, exhale, leap, inhale, pivot… She flowed through the forms, aware of her surroundings, aware of her body, and at the same time completely removed from her environment and herself. A corner of her mind registered Harry leaving the dojo.

She did not stop, but rather flowed from form to form, using motion as a form of mediation, examining each thought from her recent trip to China as it occurred, cataloging the thought, and releasing it in time with her breath. She could feel her ki suffusing her body, her limbs, surrounding her body. She could feel the grain of the wood as her feet slid across the floor, eddies of the air as her body moved through space. Time slowed as awareness merged with the environment. There was no distinction between form and motion.

A new sensation demanded attention. It started as a tingling, growing into a burning sensation, like a jolt of electricity coursing through her in opposition to her heartbeat. Her ki pulsed, expanded, stopped; the jolt came immediately after, her ki pulsed in response. She felt in command of her ki, but the opposing force pulsed wildly, unbridled, uncontrolled.

Her awareness recognized it as magic, yet this was the first time she had felt such a strong response while in practice. The sensation was heady and scary. Ranma was used to total control of herself, yet she knew that this wild fluctuation could not be controlled; only directed. The state continued for some time, until her ki and magic began to pulse in unison, disrupting her control of her ki, causing her concentration to shatter. She paused in mid punch, cocking her head as she contemplated what just happened. Ranma moved with conscious thought as she finished the last of the kata, struggling to regain her focus.

Ranma wiped her forehead on her gi and paused. It was rare that her concentration could just snap like that; in addition she was drenched in sweat and _tired._ It took a great deal of effort to get her this winded. Looking up at the clock on the wall, she realized that she had been practicing alone now for nearly four hours. This brought a frown to her face; everything was weird tonight – she had lost track of time as well. Ranma looked at her hands as she brought her breath under control and slowed her heart beat. The sensation of magic and ki together…

Her mind raced as she cooled down. She looked at her fists again. Not only had she completely lost track of her sense of time, for a brief moment, right before her concentration broke, she _knew_ that if her ki and magic worked in unison, she could have accomplished anything she wanted. _Anything._ The only thing she could compare it to was a force of nature, like one of her signature moves, the _Hiryushoten Ha_, a move that created a tornado with hot and cold ki; opposing forces in harmony that nothing could stop.

Lost in thought, she cleaned up the dojo and stepped out, locking the door.

-----

Harry was watching TV in the living room she came in. She smiled at him without really acknowledging his presence, happy rather to retreat to her room for a bit, still thinking about what happened in the dojo.

Saffron's feather was resting on the desk where she had placed it after coming back from China. Ranma picked it up and stared. Magic and ki, together… Ranma placed the Saffron's feather gently on an old cushion and stripped out of her sweat-soaked gi, tossing the dirty clothing in a hamper in the corner. She donned a bathrobe and made her way to the bathroom. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" His voice was muffled by chattering of the television.

"I'm going to take a bath. Do you need to use the bathroom or anything?"

"No, all set."

"Thanks." With that, she went into the bath and closed the door. While the bath was filling, she undressed and looked at herself in the mirror, examining her body critically. Even with all the scars, Ranma looked good. She frowned. Who was she trying to kid? She looked fantastic. Maybe it was the magic of Jusenkyo, or maybe it was just good genetics, but her appearance did not reflect her age nor the amount of abuse she had been subject to over the course of her lifetime.

It was just one more aspect of the curse that she disliked – even if she went out and disfigured herself, she'd probably still end up looking gorgeous. She wasn't oblivious to the effect her looks had on men. She had often wondered if Jusenkyo had a twisted sense of humor. She had changed from a man amongst men to a man's wet dream. When she had been a teenager, she had used her charms to dupe men often enough.

Once she got stuck, however, she no longer had the easy out offered by a glass of warm water. Her behavior hand changed as well, going from the air headed, flirtatious bimbo to unapproachable ice queen. Nabiki would have been proud. It had been partly to cope with the new reality of her situation, and partly because, even though she was pretty confident she could prevent anyone from taking advantage of her, she didn't want to give anyone a reason to try. Idiots still did, though. There had never been any close calls, but each attempt had still frightened her, and she was angry with herself because she was afraid.

Her thoughts drifted to Harry. It was odd – even she knew that he was attracted to her, she didn't feel fear of him. She understood the power his attraction gave her over him and because of it vowed never to use it against him. At the same time she wasn't afraid to be his friend because of it. Ranma had never been the best with people, but she was a fantastic judge of character. Harry had many character strengths, but his two strongest traits were also his weaknesses; he was selfless and courageous.

So much so, Ranma wondered how he ever managed to do what _he_ wanted, rather than what others wanted for him. She worried about that sometimes; she knew that part of the reason he wanted to learn her art was because he wanted to, but an equally strong part was because _she_ wanted him to. Since he was courageous to the point of folly, he wouldn't back down from a challenge. Much like her, unfortunately.

When the bath was full she killed the water and stepped in, hissing with satisfaction as her skin prickled from the heat. She lowered herself into the tub and lay back, placing a wet washcloth over her eyes and relaxing, allowing the heat to lull her into sleep.

-----

She dreamed. They were incoherent images, filled with frenetic energy and change. Images exploded into streaks of color and reassembled themselves into patterns, which became agitated and angry before morphing into a billowing cloud of fog. The mists parted to reveal the landscape of Juskenkyo viewed from high above. The valley grew rapidly, as she realized she was falling, falling, faster, faster. She tried to change her direction and momentum but nothing worked. A single pool grew until it filled her entire vision.

Time slowed as the surface of the water transformed into an infinite plane, creating a wall that filled his vision, stretching to the horizons. He was a man, but the body reflected on the surface was that of the red-head he had become. He reached forward to touch the image. When his finger touched the surface, his whole body slammed into the water with the full force of his fall, shattering every bone in his body. He struggled to stand, to breath, but he was broken, underwater, and his body would not obey his commands.

His lungs burned as he swallowed the first mouthful of water. He couldn't stop. His vision became dim, the sun rippling on the surface of the water just inches above his head. The golden ball of light grew smaller and smaller as he sank deeper into the water. He tried to scream, to do anything, but he only managed to release the last precious remnants of the air in his lungs. He swallowed another mouthful of water, and the sunlight faded to blackness.

He would not die here. He could not die here. He would not allow it. He felt his body shift, responding to his will. Her foot touched the bottom. With a last desperate heave, she pushed down on the soft mud and shot towards the surface, breaking free, into the blessed light and the cool air. She gasped and flailed, throwing her arm to the bank and heaving her upper body onto the shore.

She vomited. Once, twice, continuously, pouring forth the contents of her lungs, then her stomach. Even after she emptied both organs, her mouth served as a conduit for all the waters in the world; soon the valley was flooded, cursed pools mixing and rising. Helpless, she remained on all fours because she could not stem the flow. It rose to her hands, her elbows, her shoulders. With an increased sense of panic she watched the waters until she was completely submerged.

The Jusenkyo Valley flooded, spreading forth over the lands. All was submerged. Tectonic plates shifted; volcanoes burst froth from under the seas. Continents arose, broke apart, and fell back into the ocean, only to arise again. Mountains broke forth from the lands, spewing forth ash and lava. The sunlight grew distant above as she sank deeper, deeper, pushed down by the weight of the water still gushing forth from her. The light was pushed away, back, until it was a tiny dot against an overwhelming black, further, further, till it too, vanished.

There was nothing but awareness, and in that awareness, a faint pulse could be felt. She felt her ki pulse, sending tendrils into the darkness. Magic flared in the distance in response to her ki, equal and opposite. Her ki searched for something, seeking a way out of the darkness, searching for a pathway to the magic pulsing in the distance.

The blackness spun, and she felt herself being drawn towards the pulse. Even though she couldn't sense the motion, she felt as if she was accelerating, like she had been fired from the barrel of a gun. The pulses came closer together as she moved faster, till it was a solid field she moved through. A small point of white light appeared far in the distance and grew, blinding her as she raced towards the light. When her eyes adjusted, she turned to stare into the darkness she had left. Blue iridescent lines spread from the opening, overlapping haphazardly.

She continued to speed away. The further she away she got, the more she could see – an iris, eyelids, a sharp nose, fine eyebrows, a smooth forehead. Dark skin. Red hair, blue eyes. Her self.

----

Ranma sat up in the bath, breathing heavily. The washcloth fell into the water with a plop. It was the same dream she always had when she fell asleep in the bathtub, but this was the first time she had ever gotten so far. She always woke up just before she broke the surface of the water in Jusenkyo.

She leaned back with a sigh. Even though taking a portkey was easier than flying, it was strangely tiring, especially over such a long distance. She sat up and grabbed the washcloth and wrung it out, intending to take another nap, but stopped.

Something was wrong. Her skin tingled. She looked around the bathroom, trying to understand what it was that felt so out of place. The door was closed, nothing had changed, and she couldn't sense anyone near by. With a sigh, she sank back in the water again, not able to shake the feeling.

With a shrug, she dipped the wash cloth into the water once again to warm it up. She squeezed the excess water out, placing the warm cloth against her forehead and released a contented sigh. What ever it was, she'd figure it out eventually. The heat felt too good to let it bother her right now.

She ripped the cloth off her forehead and stared at it. She could practically see the ki and magic saturating the water dripping off the cloth and running down her arm.

The bath was warm.

-------

Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration and knocked on the bathroom door again. "Ranma, are you alright?" There was no answer, but he could still hear the faint sounds of sobbing within. He had heard her wailing from the living room over twenty minutes ago. From the sounds of things, she seemed to be calming down, but Harry had no clue what could have set her off. He'd been trying to get her to talk to him through the door, but he'd had no luck so far.

"If you don't answer me in ten seconds, I'm going to come in there, okay?" He started counting. "One…" He got to nine before he heard Ranma's voice telling him to go away. "I'm not going away until you tell me what's wrong." He didn't get a response, nor did he expect one. At least she wasn't sobbing anymore.

"I'm coming in." He pulled out his wand and unlocked the door, then conjured a bath robe and a towel. He opened the door slowly to give Ranma ample warning. Steam poured out through the crack of the door, fogging his glasses instantly.

Ranma was sitting in the tub with her knees pulled into her chest, hugging her legs and resting her cheek against her thighs. Even through the steam he could see that her eyes were blood shot. He stopped for a second, stunned by the vulnerability on display. He swallowed and cleared his throat. Ranma's eyes meet his briefly. She sniffled once and turned her head to look away from Harry.

He walked up slowly to the edge of the tub and sat down. "You alright?" he asked, draping the towel over her exposed back.

She didn't turn to face him, but she did pull the towel closer around her. "I will be."

"Want to talk about it?"

She sniffled and used one hand to wipe her eyes with the towel. "Not really."

Harry tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "Can I do anything to help?

Ranma shrugged. "No. For now, at least."

"Alright." Harry stood. "I'm going to go make a pot of tea. You want some?"

Ranma nodded, still not bothering to face Harry.

Harry hung up the bathroom on one of the hooks. He left the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen, catching the sound of cascading water as Ranma stood up in the bath. Harry busied himself with putting the kettle on the burner and arranging some leftover scones on a plate. By the time the water had stated to boil, the soft rustle of terrycloth announced Ranma's arrival in the kitchen. She pulled a stool up to the counter and leaned on her elbows, watching Harry pull the tea kettle off the range.

Harry carefully measured out some loose-leaf tea and dumped it in the water before placing the plate of snacks on the counter. He turned and reached into the cabinet behind him and grabbed two mugs placing one in front of Ranma before coming around the counter and pulling up a stool of his own.

"Tea?"

Ranma nodded her head.

"Right." Harry picked up the kettle poured a cup of tea for both of them. He didn't bother with a strainer as he simply banished the leaves from their mugs into the sink. Harry watched Ranma out of the corner of his eye as he cradled his mug in both hands, leaning on the counter.

Ranma grasped her own mug in both hands, staring into her tea. Though she had stopped crying, her eyes were still red. She didn't drink her tea, content rather to simply stare at it and reflect. He put down his tea and reached for a scone. Realizing he forgot to set out plates, he conjured up a small saucer. He broke the scone apart and put half on his plate. "Want half?"

Ranma cracked a ghost of a smile. She shrugged. "Sure."

Harry conjured up a plate for her as well and gave her the larger half. She always ate more than he did, anyway. He busied himself with breaking his scone into small bites, spreading some jam on each one and eating with deliberate slowness to give Ranma time to collect herself. He completely finished his half and was ready to reach for another one before Ranma spoke up.

"When your wife died… How did you deal with it?" She didn't look at him when she asked, glancing out the window instead.

Harry put his tea down and conjured up a stool. "Why do you ask?"

Ranma looked at him under heavily-lidded eyes.

Harry looked at her and sank onto it with a sigh, taking off his glasses and folding them up to place them in his shirt pocket. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand and took a deep breath, letting it out with a rush. "I didn't, really."

Ranma broke off a bit of her pastry and took a bite. "What do you mean?" They made eye contact. Harry could see that she was closer to her normal self, a bit calmer, a bit more in control.

Harry laced his fingers together and rested his chin on his knuckles. He looked away, through the same window she had been staring at earlier. "It's a long story."

"I've got time." She took a sip of her tea.

Harry glanced at her. "Sure. But will you tell me what made you so upset first?"

Ranma looked away through the window. "Pretty view up here."

"Yeah, I've always liked it. It's why I bought the place to begin with."

They sat in silence for a bit, tea ignored, staring out the window. Ranma finished off her half of the scone, picking up the last bite in her fingers. "I took a bath. I fell asleep. When I woke up, the water was warm." She popped the remnants in her mouth, chewing resolutely.

Harry blinked and glanced over at her. Not knowing what response she wanted, he stayed mute.

Ranma stuck her finger in her tea, a trace of her earlier sadness in her eyes. When she pulled her finger out of the tea, a chunk of ice had frozen around her finger. She flicked the ice cube to the sink. "This happens whenever I'm around hot water. My ki freezes things…" She shrugged. "I like falling asleep in baths. I never wake up in warm water."

Harry suddenly understood. "You should have changed."

Ranma nodded. "But I didn't."

"Which means?"

"That I'm not sure if I _can _change back anymore." Her lip quivered a bit as she said this. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a few calming breaths. She opened her eyes and gave a wry smile. "If you didn't notice, I'm pretty upset, but I've had to sixteen years to prepare for it." Ranma paused to take a sip of her tea. "I guess I haven't exorcised all my ghosts yet." She shrugged. "Which is why I asked - how did you deal with your wife's death?"

Harry sucked his teeth. "I didn't, at first." He explained, "It was so unexpected, you see… We were deliriously happy, young newlyweds, and with our first child on the way." Harry frowned and looked into his tea. "We were traveling. It was stupid, but she…" He stopped. "It was my fault, really. I got careless, because I thought with Voldemort's death things would be easy for us. There hadn't been a serious attack on me or Ginny in years."

"Ginny? Like your owl?"

Harry smiled softly. "Yeah… Cheli named the owl that. Her name was Ginny. Ginerva, actually, but her whole family called her Ginny." Harry trailed off, his eyes losing focus as he stared into his tea.

"How did the two of you meet?"

"Hmm?" Harry looked up. "Oh, on the train platform to go to Hogwarts. I didn't know how to access the hidden platform, and I overheard her family talking about it. You remember Ron, right? Well, he was one of my best friends in school. I guess he still is one of my best friends, but we've grown apart a bit over the years because we travel so much, and…"

"What does Ron have to do with her?" Ranma interrupted.

"Oh, sorry." Harry gave a little laugh. "She was his youngest sister, so we knew each other for a long time. She had a crush on me since she was about eleven, and then when I was sixteen… She just laid one on me. Snogged me so thoroughly that there was never really any question about it after that, really. At first I didn't want to have a relationship because of the whole Voldemort deal, but she had her mind set and wouldn't let me go. During that fight at Hogwarts, she was so fierce, determined to take part regardless of what the 'adults' told her. There was this time when…"

Ranma had calmed considerably listening to Harry recounted his memories of his late wife. He talked about her exploits with Riddle's diary and the Chamber of Secrets and their time together at school. Ranma's tea grew cold well before Harry wound down. Harry described her propensity to gags and mischief, as well as her protectiveness of family. Ranma could see that the pain was still present as she watched Harry describe her, even after all the years. But the pain was distant, a tender scar, but yet, at the same time, she took some measure of comfort in it, because she could understand herself. Something… released as Ranma sat listening.

"She sounded very lovely." Ranma paused, unsure if to press on. "How did she… pass?"

Ranma watched as Harry's face fell. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." He gently sloshed his cold tea back and forth, looking Ranma in the eyes. "We were attacked by some pure-blood fanatics that had managed to escape the roundup after Voldemort's death. She took a curse meant for me. It didn't kill her outright, but it did cause her to go into premature labor and started hemorrhaging badly. Between her wound and the bleeding… I… I was never very good at healing spells…" He closed his eyes for a second. "By the time we got to the medics, she had lost too much blood. They couldn't save her, but they did save the baby."

"Cheli?"

Harry nodded. "Achelios." He cleared his throat, fighting down his emotions. "Burying Ginny… was… the single hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

"I know." Ranma paused. "It's funny, isn't it? Even when you don't think it will, life just… continues. You cope, I guess."

"I don't think I ever… learned to cope. If I was feeling overwhelmed…" He put his wand up to his head and pulled a thin strand of memories from his temple, flicking the wand to allow the memories to float into the air and dissipate like smoke. "I had thought that with Voldemort dead my troubles were over. We got married, and I wasn't ready to handle the grief. So, I just… ignored it. Put it away, sealed off my memories, and I threw myself into my work and raising my daughter."

"That doesn't sound healthy."

"It wasn't. It isn't." Harry sighed. "But I had a newborn infant to look after and a career that means something… we all have to make choices. Rather than let it destroy me, I decided to stay busy until I could manage."

"How long did it take you 'to manage'?"

Harry frowned. "It was years before I could even look at my daughter and not cry. I wasn't the best father early on. I had good friends who tried to help, but if you don't want to be helped it doesn't matter."

Ranma nodded. "Is it still painful?"

Harry raised his mug in a mock toast. "You tell me."

Ranma lifted her mug in acknowledgement. She asked, "Can you make me another portkey to China? I… need to talk to Ku Lon. She might have some insights for me."

Harry nodded. "Sure. When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as you can get the portkey ready." Ranma took a sip of tea.

"Got it. Good thing I didn't unpack, then."

"Actually," Ranma paused a second. "I… I want to go alone."

Harry shrugged and nodded.

"How long do you want to be gone?" He lifted his scone to take a bite.

"Can you… make it open ended?"

The request caught Harry by surprise. "Yeah, I can do that." He frowned and looked down to his plate. "Any idea how long you'll be there?"

Ranma shrugged. "I don't know." She sighed. "I've got a few things I need to work out, and then…"

"And then?"

"I'll come back."

"How long do you think it will take?"

She shrugged.

"Right." He paused. "What are you going to do about training while you're away?"

"Ahh… right." Ranma pursed her lips. "Hadn't thought about that. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

-----

Harry handed Ranma the portkey. It was a small thing, and Harry chose it mostly for stupid and sentimental reasons. It was a thin silver chain with a tiny, old fashioned silver key hanging from it. Harry realized it was the first real gift he ever gave to Ranma. He handed it over without ceremony. "It's the key to the apartment. Just enlarge it until it fits in the lock."

"Thanks." Ranma nodded.

"The activation phrase is Fawkes." Harry nodded. "Come back whenever."

Ranma nodded and shouldered her pack. She reached behind her to open the front door of the apartment. She stepped out into the hall and caught the closing door with her left hand. "You'd better not slack off on the exercises I gave you or I'll kick your ass when I get back, okay?"

"I'll hold you to that, then." Harry smiled.

"Fawkes." Ranma disappeared with a pop. Harry doubted that Ranma seen, or if she did, she was kind enough not to say anything. In the last instant before she vanished, his smile had slipped.

For the first time in over half a year, he was completely alone. Having been unexpectedly happy and busy, Harry had forgotten how awful that feeling was.

----

Ranma lay on her back on the tile roof of Ku Lon's house, resting her head on the palm of her left hand, absentmindedly twirling Saffron's feather between her right thumb and forefinger. She stared through the feather and into the night sky. As the sun fell, she had discovered that the feather gave off a faint glow when charged with ki. She had been playing with it for hours, watching the glowing red tip of the feather as it left the faintest afterimage against the sky. Just holding it would give off enough light to obscure the Milky Way and faint stars, but most of the constellations were still visible.

There had been a few constants in Ranma's life. She could tick them off with the fingers of one hand; they were conflict, confusion, chaos, and constellations. The stars were the only constant in her life that hadn't caused her any problems. She appended a silent "yet" to that thought and added a mental sigh. With her luck, it would only be a matter of time.

The conflict had come early and often, and confusion was part and parcel. Chaos defined her life, and nothing would change that. She had accepted that, and even if she couldn't control it, she could at least manage it. She looked up at the sky picking out a few of her favorite constellations.

As a child she had been fascinated by the stars. Her father was all too happy to oblige that fascination by kicking Ranma out of tent and making him sleep in the rough no matter how inclement the weather. Genma had called "survival training," but Ranma realized much later it was one of the many tactics her father had used squash Ranma's curiosity and make him completely dependent on the lazy bastard's guidance. Genma decided early on that astronomy wasn't important (i.e., it didn't make Ranma a better fighter), so the asshole made sure that Ranma learned to stop asking questions early on.

But being alone under the stars as a child made her associate the night sky with quiet reflection, something Genma would have ruthlessly quashed had he known.

She always did her best thinking under the night sky. Not that she had ever been accused of thinking, but on occasion… She spun the feather again and waited for the afterimage to fade from her sight. Saffron had changed. Gone was the little brat who had turned into a wrathful godling. Instead Ranma had found a… a… She twirled the feather again, not able or willing to complete the train of thought. She had been fully prepared to go back to the mountain to finish the job she had started sixteen years ago. Now that she didn't have too…

She frowned. After Akane's death, Ranma had believed that resolving her commitments to her friends and family would give her direction. Those plans had been derailed her by her idiotic father and psychotic mother. Near death, bereft of honor and left without a clan, Ranma had been unable to satisfy any of the demands placed upon her. With no family and no school, she had been directionless, and thanks to Genma, the only thing she knew was martial arts.

The feather spun again in her hand, a red ring of light glowing softly against the sky. Saffron changed. So had she. Ranma was no longer that sixteen year old boy holding his dying fiancée. The art was all she had known for so long, the only thing she could focus on. She had no purpose but to wander and learn, looking for something that she might make her own.

The art had kept her going. But at the same time, it had kept her trapped in the past, reminded of the past with every kata, every opponent, every breath. When did her father's dream become hers? Revenge had never been a good reason to get better at the art, but at least it gave her some sort of purpose.

Saffron had shown her that revenge was unnecessary. What was she trying to accomplish now? She twirled the feather and peered up at sky, lost in her thoughts.

----

Dinner was quiet as it was just Ranma and Ku Lon. Mu Tsu and Xian Pu were at his parent's house for dinner. Ku Lon was patient and content to sip her tea and smoke at the head of the table, waiting for Ranma to speak. She was old and patient. She'd been around long enough to know a troubled woman, and eventually all troubled women would open up with enough time.

Ranma herself was lost in thought, staring at the feather in her left hand as she picked at her food.

Ku Lon took a long drag on her pipe and blew a few smoke rings into the air. Judging by the look on Ranma's face, she seemed to be thinking in circles, which meant it was an opportune time to jar her out of an unproductive thought process. "What's bothering you, Ranma?"

"Mmnn?" Ranma peered up from her meal.

"You must be troubled to seek my council."

"What makes you think that?"

Ku Lon gave her a half-lidded glare and pointed at her barely touched meal. "I haven't had to defend my meal from you once tonight. You also journeyed half-way across the world to land sobbing at my door."

Ranma waved the feather she was holding in her left hand. "I'm just…" She shrugged. "I'm feeling a little lost, I think."

"Oh?" Ku Lon took another drag on her pipe. "Explain."

Ranma took a deep breath. "I took a bath." She looked at the feather in her hands. "I feel asleep, like normal, but… When I woke up, the water was… still hot."

"Ah." Ku Lon took a long drag on her pipe. "I see. How did you react?"

Ranma huffed. "How do you think?"

"I imagine you were quite upset."

"I was bawling like a little girl. Harry had to break into the bathroom to make me get out of the tub."

Ku Lon hid her amusement behind another drag on her pipe. At least Ranma wasn't moping anymore. It was a start, at least. "Why were you so upset?"

Ranma glared at the old woman. "You know why I'd be upset."

Ku Lon nodded. "Yes, I do. But I want you to tell me. I think it would be helpful for you to talk about it."

Ranma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let it out in a slow, controlled exhale before opening her eyes. "What it means is that I'm not stuck as a woman because of some issue with my ki. If that were the case, I would have transformed when I woke up."

"Why?"

"Ranma grabbed her breasts and pushed them together. "It means I'm stuck this way for life, or Jusenkyo's playing a dirty trick on me."

Ku Lon nodded. "I favor the latter, of course."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, me too." She paused, cocking her head to the side. "It could be a combination of both, though. Who knows?"

A comfortable silence settled over the table as Ranma suddenly took interest in the food around her. She placed the feather on the table and started to eat with some of her normal gusto, picking apart the dishes with her chopsticks.

Ku Lon watched her eat and pointed at the feather on the table. "What does that have to do with this?"

Ranma swallowed a mouthful of food and placed her rice bowl on the table and rested her chopsticks on the rim. She pushed back from the table and crossed her legs lotus style in the chair. "It's a personal gift from Saffron."

"Ah." Ku Lon watched Ranma picked up her tea cup and stare at the feather in silence.

Ranma's brow was furrowed as she concentrated on the object. Finally, she said, "Saffron… Changed, Ku Lon. I feel like… today, I realized how much I've changed, too. I don't know when it happened, but I'm so far from what made me Ranma Saotome that now… I don't know. I'm very different now, and I just realized it. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that yet."

"Is that bad?" Ku Lon gestured with her pipe. "The old you was a brash, thoughtless, arrogant little shit that hurt everyone because your ability to make a decision was crippled by that pig of a man that happened to donate half of your genetic material. Your mother wasn't much better. Had they not given birth to you, they would have absolutely no redeeming qualities. Would you honestly want to go back to that?"

"No… but…" Ranma twirled the feather. "I don't think I could ever be Ranma Saotome again, but I don't know who I'll end up as, either."

"Does it matter?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. I just need some goal to aim for."

Ku Lon raised an eyebrow. "Being the best martial artist isn't enough anymore?"

Ranma smirked. "I already am." Ku Lon shot her a dark look, at which Ranma held up her hands in a warding gesture as she giggled. Then she looked horrified at what she had done. "I just giggled, didn't I?"

Ku Lon smiled and winked in response.

Ranma sighed. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't know when it happened, but…"

"It's healthy, Ranma. You seem happier now than I've ever seen you."

Ranma cocked her head, thinking. "I guess… I guess I am. Funny, isn't it?"

"If anyone deserves happiness, it's you." Ku Lon took a sip of tea.

"Thanks, I guess." Ranma let it go, not sure if she should be insulted or flattered. "I… am… happy." She gave Ku Lon a genuine smile. "The funny thing is - I'm happy because I've found a friend. Harry showed me magic, and I feel… " She took a deep breath, letting it go. "I feel alive again."

Ku Lon nodded. "It shows. You seem more balanced than I've ever seen. Your ki seems to be neutral."

Ranma nodded. "I think that I've come to understand more about myself through magic. Working with magic has helped me in terms of ki control, and Harry's shown me a world of possibility. Being the best at martial arts was always my father's dream for me, anyway. I kept going because I didn't know what else to do."

"So what do _you_ want to do, then?"

"I don't know. I think I'm starting to understand, but..." Ranma shrugged. "I guess I've just been holding on to the past for so long…" Ranma drained her tea cup and set it back on the table.

"That you lost sight of the present?"

"Maybe… Yeah."

Ku Lon reached across with the tea pot and refilled Ranma's cup. That killed the pot however, so Ku Lon refilled the pot with boiling water from the kettle on the hearth and closed the lid, allowing the tea to steep.

Ku Lon smiled. "How is Mr. Potter, by the way? I bet he's lonely without you around."

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Oh? You seem quite confident about that. Does this mean I should encourage Mr. Potter to continue his pursuit of you?"

"You don't have to encourage anything." Ranma cracked a wan smile. "He's been pretty good about trying to keep things 'friendly,' though."

"But you haven't ruled it out completely."

She frowned sputtered out indignantly, "I'm a guy, goddamit."

Ku Lon snorted. "You could have fooled me."

Ranma was about to protest, but instead, chose to sigh. She mumbled, "I guess I'm not anymore, huh?"

Ku Lon shook her head. Ranma did the hardest thing she could remember; she nodded in agreement, clenching her hands into fists and bringing them to eye level. "Ku Lon… I'm scared. I can't fight this with my fists." Her voice cracked with the final word.

To her credit, the Amazon Elder didn't mock her. Instead, she offered a reassuring smile and waited for Ranma to continue.

Ranma paused to collect herself. When she felt composed, she said, "I've never had to think like this before. It's scary." Ranma snorted. "I mean, yeah, I've thought about it before, but I've never actually had to do more than ruthlessly squash those thoughts and tell myself it would never happen."

Ku Lon blew a smoke ring into the air. "But now you have to entertain that possibility, don't you?"

Ranma nodded, her confidence diminished. "I'm just not sure I can. How do you change thirty-two years of habit?"

"Is that why you came here?"

"I'm tired of going through life with some sort of empty mission. I'm ready to… to be…" She shrugged. "I dunno. If not happy, I'll settle for at peace."

"How do you intend to do that?" Ku Lon asked.

"I don't know. But… I want to have kids eventually, and if I'm stuck this way…" Ranma grimaced and shook her head.

Ku Lon nodded. "You can't wait too long, and you aren't getting younger."

"Yeah." Ranma gave a shuddering sigh. "It creeps me out. I have a long way to go before I could ever be comfortable with that, Ku Lon."

"But the fact that you're even willing to admit it shows that you are getting closer."

"That's the scariest part. You should know that if I'm willing to even think about it..." Ranma paused. "I figured if anyone can help me, you'd be able to."

Ku Lon hid her smile in her cup of tea. "I have a few tricks that could speed up the process."

"Yeah," Ranma rolled her eyes, "no thanks. I'd be pretty pissed when the effects wore off."

"Why didn't you go to Harry for help, then?"

"Harry's… He's… a fantastic person, but he's also not necessarily neutral territory. I need to deal with this on my own. I want to know that whatever decision I arrive at, I want to arrive at because I want to, not because I was forced. I know you're manipulative, but… strangely enough, I trust you. You've been the only person in my life who was honest about what you wanted from me."

"I'm flattered." Ku Lon raised her cup in a mock toast. "If you change your mind, I'm sure Harry would be more than willing to help."

"I'm sure he would." Ranma snorted and leaned back in her chair. "It's kind of appropriate, don't you think?"

"What's that?"

Ranma shrugged. "Just my life in general. Most people go to their parents or friends for this kind of advice. I'm forced to turn to an old hag that would be just as happy marrying me off to half her tribe as help me out."

Ku Lon whipped her cane out and attempted to whack Ranma on the head. Ranma caught the cane with a smirk, but Ku Lon wasn't finished. In a flash she pushed the cane forward and caught Ranma right between the eyes, sending her toppling over backwards to the ground.

Ranma stood up, rubbing her forehead and muttering about "stupid old hags."

"Impertinent whelp." Ku Lon looked at the tea and decided it had steeped long enough. She held up the tea pot. "More tea?"

"Sure." Ranma sat back down at the table, rubbing idly at the growing lump on her forehead.

Ku Lon smiled as she refilled the pot with water and set it back on the hearth. "I won't even put aphrodisiacs in this pot!"

"Ku Lon!"

"What?" The old woman feigned surprise. "Those are birthing hips if I've ever seen them."

Ranma glared at her darkly. "I came for help, not a stand up routine."

Ku Lon nodded. "I've got a few ideas. How long can you stay?"

"As long as I need to."

"Good." Ku Lon placed her staff down and hopped onto the handle, perched like a bird. "If you would indulge me in a spar, I want to see how balanced your ki has become."

-----

Harry sat down at his desk in the office at the Ministry, unsure as to why he was even here. Notes floated overhead, vying for his attention. He grabbed the nearest one and opened it mechanically, reading it three times and not registering what it said.

"Hey, welcome back Harry! How was China?"

He looked up from his note, glad for the distraction. Tonks had popped her head into his office. "Hi Tonks."

"I wanted to be the first one to…" She stopped as she took in his appearance. "Jesus, Harry. You look awful. What happened while you were gone?" She stepped into his office and closed the door, conjuring up a chair for herself as she sat next to his desk.

He shrugged. "I'm still figuring it out."

"Want to tell me about it?"

He did. He told Tonks about the trip to China, and the aftermath of what he now called "the bath episode." For some reason, he didn't feel it right to bring up truth of Ranma's curse. He wrapped up his story, saying, "… she had a cup of tea, and just left."

Tonks patted him on the back awkwardly. "How long has she been gone?"

"That's the funny part," he said flatly. "It's only been three days."

Tonks tried to stifle a laugh. "Damn. I mean, I'm sorry."

Harry gave her a long suffering look and rolled his eyes. "I know, I'm pathetic."

Tonks patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay. I'm actually happy for you. I haven't seen you this goo-goo eyed over a girl since… well, ever, really."

"It doesn't matter. I'm in the 'friend' zone, you know."

"Ouch." Tonks winced. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Have you heard from her at all?"

Harry shook his head.

Tonks got up and gave him a hug. "Look… try not to let this get you too down, okay? Like you said, it's not like she was your girlfriend or anything."

Harry laughed without mirth. "Right, Tonks. That doesn't mean I still can't miss her."

"Oh Harry…" Tonks released her hug. "Do you want to go out to dinner with us this evening? Maybe a change of scenery will do you good."

Harry begged off. "I'll pass tonight. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Alright." Tonks turned to go. "How about next week?"

"We'll see."

Tonks nodded sadly gave his shoulder a last squeeze. "It will work out alright, Harry."

Harry reached up and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I know. Give Remus my best, okay?"

"Got it."

Harry watched Tonks go before turning back to his work. He read the note again and tried to concentrate, but couldn't. He was angry at himself for allowing this to affect him so much, angry at Ranma because she didn't realize how much this was affecting him, and just generally not in the frame of mind necessary to deal with reports of bogarts in Ministry cabinets.

He tossed the note out and looked for something else. He unfolded the paper airplane and read about possible inferni in Scotland. Harry seriously doubted that anyone was stupid enough to animate the dead so soon after Voldemort. He balled up the paper and threw it in the waste basket and was about to grab the next note when he stopped.

Animated dead?

He summoned the crumpled paper out of the waste basket and smoothed it out on his desk. He read the note carefully, able to discount that they were actual inferni, but a plan formed in the back of his mind. Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and started making some notes. First, he needed to talk to Dumbledore.

-------

"Harry Potter! What a pleasure! Please, come in, come in!" The rest of Harry's body shot out of the floe. He hated those things. Why couldn't all magical transportation be as comfortable as a broom? He shook his head and waved away Headmaster McGonagall offered hand as he pulled himself from the floor.

Standing up, he shook the ashes out of his clothes and looked around the Headmaster's office. Not much had changed since she had taken office, except many of the gadgets that Dumbledore had kept in his office had been moved down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms. She had added a few personal touches, starting with a collection of Wizarding chess pieces that move of their own accord. It was a fine but easy to overlook touches of transfiguration, like most of her best work, it was severe and understated. The office wasn't cold; it just didn't lend itself well to fireside chats and hot chocolate. It reflected McGonagall's personality well: it was a place of business. .

"Harry!" McGonagall stepped forward and gave him a hug. He returned it with pleasure, lifting the old witch with his hug and setting her down gently. She laughed at his enthusiasm and patted him on the shoulders, her joy at seeing him obvious.

Harry smiled. He had turned down the job when it had been offered to him because she had been doing such a good job, and he was too fresh from his loss to contemplate working in a place with so many memories of Ginny. McGonnall offered some tea, which he accepted gratefully. He waited until they had dispensed with the pleasantries before launching into the reason why he came.

McGonagall was accommodating, of course. He knew she would be. Still, he felt bad that he couldn't tell her why he needed to talk to Dumbledore's portrait. When he finished, they chatted for a bit until it was time to go. He had a lot to accomplish tonight.

----

Harry gave his inventory a second thorough check and donned his invisibility cloak. He stepped out the front door of his apartment and turned, popping out of existence and into Hogsmead. Even though he was invisible, he quickly ducked into the shadows to see if anyone noticed the sound of his apparition. Convinced that he had arrived undetected, he glanced up at the moon. It was three quarters full, which would give him enough light to see by while protecting him from the worst of the full-moon creatures that might roam at his next destination.

He left the village as quickly as he was able, sticking to the back streets to avoid late night wanderers and down towards the lake. The walk went quickly, and soon Hogwarts was rising majestically above him on the rise. He turned away from the castle, though, and instead headed towards the groundskeeper's hunt. Hagrid was still there, but Harry wasn't here to visit him tonight.

He pulled out a compass and a piece of parchment and checked his bearings, using the gate of the castle as a reference point before turning and heading into the Forbidden Forest. He gathered the cloak tight around him and readied his wand. The trees almost entirely blocked out the light of the moon and pressed inwards, deepening the gloom. He moved slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light and treacherous footing, but also because he took care to avoid making unnecessary sound.

Coming alone to the Forbidden Forest was usually a bad idea on any night, and he wanted to get in and out with as little danger as possible. Just because he had the invisibility cloak on didn't mean there weren't things out here that couldn't hurt him. The acrumantulas sprang to mind rather quickly. Since the death of Aragog in his sixth year at Hogwarts, they had been much more… aggressive.

Harry glanced down at the parchment in his hand and checked his bearings compulsively. He had become so reliant on his wand to show him directions he'd forgotten how to find his way around in unfamiliar terrain. It helped that he had spent the last couple days in the pensieve, reliving his memories from the night that Voldemort fell. He had compulsively taken notes and practiced the route he needed to take.

He glanced down at the parchment again, checked his bearings, and changed course slightly. He kept his senses alert as he made his way towards his destination. The underbrush and the low branches of the trees made the journey torturously slow; the gnarled and twisted roots underfoot clutched at his feet, slowing him further. He wasn't using any source of light, relying rather on stealth.

Soon he came to the place where long ago he had followed Yaxley had Dolohov had led him to the clearing where Aragog had once resided. From here, Harry slowed again, taking extra care to observe the forest around him. Even though the Death Eaters had driven off Aragog's spawn all those years ago, they were certain to have come back.

The foliage overhead became even thicker as he moved deeper into the forest. The amount of ambient light was halved, barely providing enough light for him to cautiously pick his way through the forest. He checked his bearings every few steps, keeping low to avoid brushing against the branches. He was more worried than relieved when he didn't see any signs of acromantula webs. What he saw through a break in the trees confirmed his suspicions.

The clearing had gotten bigger since he had last visit, and the cause was visible in the large bonfire that burned in the middle, casting shadows deep into the forest. He cursed under his breath. "Giants. Fuck." Sinking to his knees, he crawled to base of a tree near the clearing. In the light, he saw four large mountains of flesh sleeping in the moonlight.

One of the mountains snorted and rolled over to scratch its nose, letting its arm fall to the ground with a thud. Harry winced and very nearly decided to abandon his plan that moment, but when the beast didn't wake he took a calming breath. He waited for a few minutes, taking stock of the situation, scanning the area for any giants that might be awake.

According to his directions, he dropped the Resurrection Stone before stepping into the clearing last time. His first problem was that the clearing had grown in size. The giants had ripped up trees for firewood, meaning the stone was probably no longer where he remembered dropping it. A silent summoning charm confirmed that he couldn't summon the stone to him, so he'd have to locate it physically.

Locating the stone was the whole reason for his conversation with Dumbledore earlier that afternoon. They had talked about magical (and other) methods of locating the Stone. Using the spells Dumbledore had taught him, Harry sat there for the better part of the night trying to detect some sort of magical resonance but failed. He tried everything else he could think of as well, including from magical detectors and a good bit of wishful thinking. Finally, he gave up as the sun was rising, not wanting to risk giants in the daylight.

He carefully checked to make sure his invisibility cloak was on correctly and silently waked out of the forest. He decided to go straight to work instead of going home. Maybe some of the Untouchables might be able to help him out. He'd just have to be careful not to tell them what he was looking for. After all, he didn't want anyone else to know exactly where the Resurrection Stone was. If he didn't find it now, he'd find it eventually. It was just a matter of time.

----

My computer died. See my profile for the update. I really, really lost the motivation to continue work on this story, but recently got back to work on it. Unfortunately, I lost most of the work I had done and the notes and outlines I made for the story. I was upset of course, but recently an amazing thing happened. My wife knew I liked to write, but never had read my fiction. She read the story recently, and loved it - which has gotten me fired up again and ready to write. Although writing for this story is still relatively painful, I'm now confident I'll be able to wrap it up in a couple of months and end the suspense. Thanks for all the reviews, more appreciated. I particularly like constructive criticism.

Muishiki


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

-----

"Ku Lon?"

"Yes, deary?"

Ranma sighed. She looked at herself in the mirror as she tried on yet another dress from Ku Lon. "This isn't me, and it isn't helping."

"Oh, I know. I was just having fun dressing you up." The old lady cackled as she watched Ranma's eyebrow twitch.

"I think…" Ranma frowned into the mirror. "I think I'm ready to go back."

Ku Lon looked surprised. "So soon? But you've only been here for a few weeks."

"I know. But… something is telling me I'm ready." Ranma paused. "Actually, something is telling me I need to go back. I don't know if I'll ever be ready."

Ku Lon nodded and took the untried dress away from Ranma, stuffing it back into the chest it came from. "I've always made it a philosophy to follow those feelings."

"Me too."

Ku Lon then did something unexpected. She gave Ranma a hug. She was so short and withered that she barely came up to Ranma's stomach, but her strength hadn't diminished at all over the years. "Will you be alright?"

Ranma smiled. Her trademark smirk wasn't present – it was a genuine smile of affection for the old matriarch. It was one of the few times she could remember actually receiving physical affection from anyone, much less the old woman. Ranma's eyes misted over briefly as she felt a huge surge of affection for her. "Yeah." She returned the hug with pleasure. "If I'm not now, I know I will be eventually. Thank you. For everything."

Ku Lon nodded and stepped back. Ranma couldn't be sure, but it looked as if the old woman's eyes were suspiciously moist. "If you need any assistance…"

Ranma laughed. "I think you've done enough for now, Elder."

"Perhaps you'll stick around for dinner tonight, at least?"

Ranma shook her head. "No, but I'll write you to let you know how things are going."

There wasn't much left to do after that. Ranma arrived with just her backpack, and she was ready to travel in just a few short minutes. She pulled Harry's portkey out of a pocket and tied it to a leather cord around her neck. Picking up her pack, Ranma stepped outside.

"Ranma?" Ku Lon's hand on her arm stopped her from immediately activating the port key.

"Yes?"

Ku Lon looked up at her and gave her a toothless grin. "It makes my old heart happy to see that you are finding your balance."

Ranma tenderly squeezed the matriarch's arm. "Mine too. I don't know where it will lead me, but for the first time since…" she trailed off. "Since ever, really." She shrugged. "I think I'm actually looking forward to the journey." With a final squeeze, she dropped her arm and activated the port key.

------

"Fawkes."

Ranma's feet slammed into the ground outside of Harry's apartment. She felt like she had been dragged behind a 747 jet liner the entire way back. It was close to midnight here. She untied the leather cord around her neck and unlocked the door, trying to be silent.

She didn't know what to expect when she opened the door, but it wasn't the sight that greeted her. It looked like a construction site in the living room. Mounds and mounds of dirt sat piled as high as the ceiling on blue waterproof camping tarps in the middle of the living room, and a series of shaker screens sat propped up next to the wall near the entrance.

Even more disconcerting was the sight of Harry, with his shirt off, shoveling scoop after scoop of dirt into a wheelbarrow from the closest pile of dirt. He was covered in filth and sweating profusely, but Ranma was strangely captivated by what was transpiring. He hadn't noticed her entrance, diligently working away at filling the wheelbarrow. It didn't take long. He stuck the shovel in the dirt pile and turned to lift the handles when he finally noticed her standing there. With a start, he stood up straight, dirt forgotten.

"I'm home." Ranma smiled uncertainly.

Harry returned the gesture. Ranma could tell by his body language he was relieved and happy to see her, but also wary. "Welcome back." He stepped away from the dirt pile and moved towards the front door, watching her carefully as he did so.

Ranma nodded. "It's good to be back." She turned to the piles of dirt in the living room. "Honey, was it too much to ask for you to keep the place clean while I was on vacation?"

Her comment had the desired effect. She saw the last bits of tension leave his body as he laughed. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah… Oops?"

Ranma stepped in and closed the door behind her. "So… What exactly are you doing?"

"Well," Harry began, "it's funny you should ask…"

------

Ranma sat at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of tea as Harry finished his shower. He joined her a few moments later. There was a little awkwardness at first as they engaged in small talk, but Ranma quickly found that once they started a real conversation with Harry it became familiar and comfortable again. Harry explained what his project was, and Ranma watched with fascination as a pile of dirt removed itself from the closest mound and levitated itself over to the first screen.

As Harry explained it, he was looking for a small stone with distinct markings and magical properties. The stone wasn't able to be summoned and its signature undetectable, which is why he had established an archeological dig in his living room.

As she suspected, there was no reason for Harry to physically move the dirt himself, he had just been doing it as physical training, a notion Ranma approved of. However, the process of screening the dirt was vastly more effective once automated. The dirt flew to through a series of metal screens, with different sized holes. The first was large enough for rocks the size of gravel to fit through, with each subsequent screen having progressively finer holes until the last one would only permit items the size of a pencil eraser through.

The screens vibrated back and forth rapidly, shifting the dirt from one screen to the next, sorting out the various rocks and debris by size. Only stones of the proper size made it to the final screen, where they were then dumped into a cleaning apparatus. The dirt all fell to the floor where it was banished away.

So far, the only thing Harry had to show for it was a bunch of gravel.

"What do you need this stone for, anyway?"

Harry watched yet another batch of dirt being processed. "It might be… useful to help figure out what is going on with your curse."

Ranma mouthed a silent "oh" and nodded her head. "That's… very sweet of you, Harry. Thank you."

Harry just shrugged. "I needed something to do."

"You've been at this for how long?" Ranma asked.

Harry scratched his head. "About two weeks."

"That's a lot of work."

"Yeah, but I needed something to do. I was going crazy here by myself. It's been really hard getting all the dirt here, because the giants are pretty territorial. I've gotten so used to having you around…" Harry stopped.

"Whoa – wait! Giants?"

Harry grinned. "Yeah! Wanna see?"

"You bet your ass!" Ranma's grin lit up her face. Harry shook his head in amusement as he looked at her. Only Ranma would actually be excited by the prospect of giants capable of tearing her from limb to limb. Without thinking, Harry blurted out, "I missed you." He shut his mouth quickly, carefully watching for her reaction, and was surprised and relieved to see her nod.

"Yeah, me too. I… missed being here. I missed… you… as well." Ranma didn't look at him, but rather stared at her hands. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to… thank you." She muttered something under her breath and shook her head. He looked at her, puzzled, but she held up her hand to forestall any comments. Finally, she took a breath and began again. "Harry, I know you've put up with a lot of stuff from me and…" She blushed and shook her head with a rueful grin.

"And?" Harry prompted, trying hard to not to get his hopes up.

Ranma looked up at him, determination in her eyes. "I'm just going to have to get it all out, or I never will. I know you want to… to have… a relationship with me. I've told you before that I didn't think it would be possible. I still don't know if it would be. But… something tells me I'm stuck this way. IF am stuck this way, I'm going to have to accept it. It's taken me a long time to realize that, but it also means that at some point, I'll need to do more than just accept if I ever want to be whole." The determination in her eyes was still there when she finished speaking, but had faded somewhat, exposing her uncertainty.

Since she didn't look inclined to continue, Harry asked, "What do you mean?"

Ranma gave him a shy smile. "I can't promise anything, but I won't turn you down if you ask me again."

Harry simply stared at her for a bit, not quite comprehending what she was saying. "What, you want me to ask you out on a date?"

Ranma looked down at her shoes and nodded. "I'm willing to try, and I… want to try it with you. I can't… promise you anything more than that right now, okay?"

Harry nodded. "That's fine."

The pair sat there in silence for a bit as both waited for the other to speak.

"Why is this so hard?" Ranma was still blushing.

Harry laughed. "This is the easy part."

Ranma looked a little sick. "Just… promise me one thing?"

"What's that?"

"That you'll take me to see the giants?"

Harry burst into laughter, followed quickly by Ranma. Hearing him laugh made Ranma realize that even though she felt embarrassed and terrified at the prospect of accepting what she had become, she still wanted to do it, not only for his sake, but for hers as well.

-----

"Training trip, Harry. Get your stuff." Ranma flicked on the light in Harry's bedroom and tossed an empty camping pack into Harry's lap. He bolted upright in bed, the covers falling down to his waist.

"Huh?" He fumbled for his glasses as he squinted at the intruder in his room.

"Training trip. You wanna go?"

Harry tried to process what Ranma was telling him and failed miserably. He settled for simple disgruntlement, asking, "Do you know time it is?"

"Yeap!" She practically radiated good cheer. "It's 3:30 in the morning. You wanna go or not? I promise it will be fun!" Ranma winked and left the room.

Harry stared at his open door dumbly, not really registering what had just transpired. He blinked and looked at the pack on his bed as the gears in his head slowly started to turn. He had a vague recollection of agreeing to do go somewhere with Ranma to train, but he had been fairly drunk at the time and couldn't recall the particulars of the agreement.

With a sigh, he slowly got out of bed and began to dress. He pulled on a sweatshirt and a comfortable pair of loose fitting pants. As he did so, he wordlessly commanded the bag to pack itself. He had no idea where they were going, but he figured he would prepare for the worst. His usual hiking ensemble and some heavier clothing flew out of his closet and into the bag. He did a quick inventory of the contents of his bag before summoning his hiking boots. He snagged them out of midair and grabbed a pair of socks, sitting on the edge of the bed as he donned his boots.

His reflection in the mirror next to his dresser blinked back at him owlishly, yawning as it watched him lacing up the boots. "You look like a mess," his reflection said. Harry scowled and muttered, "Thanks," waiting until he finished tying his laces before he answered the mirror's unspoken question about why he was up this early. "Ranma was nattering on about some sort of training trip." The mirror's eyebrow's rose as it took in the information. Harry grabbed his bag and headed towards the kitchen, missing the mirror's reply.

Ranma was seated calmly at the table, finishing off a piece of toast. She looked him up and down. "Packed already?" He nodded. "You used magic?" Again, he nodded, sitting down at the table with her as she polished off the crust. "Useful, that." He grumbled as he grabbed for the tea pot and poured himself a cup. "Not as useful as sleep." He snagged a piece of toast from her plate and spread some marmalade on it. He ate in silence, gulping down his tea as fast as possible.

Ranma handed him the morning paper while looking at her watch. "Portkey's nearly ready."

"Portkey? What Portk…" At that moment, he felt the familiar pulling sensation that started from his navel, dragging them quickly off to an unknown destination. His feet slammed into the ground and sent him sprawling at the end of the ride. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his chest as he tried to take in his surroundings. Though it was extremely dark, he could tell they were in some sort of deeply wooded area. In the far distance he could hear the sound of waves crashing on a beach, and the tang of salt rested lightly on the air.

"Where are we?"

Ranma pulled out a brochure and handed it to him. Unable to read in the dark, Harry produced a small ball of light with his index finger and read the pamphlet.

"Exmoor National Park?" He scratched his head. "What are we doing here?"

She smiled. "You're going to learn how to jump."

------

They marched to their camp site in the dark. The hike through the forest was quite strenuous as the darkness made it difficult to find good footing in the loose soil and treacherous slopes. They descended until they reached the beach. Harry looked back to see mighty cliffs towering above them, reflecting the moonlight. Ranma picked a camp site several hundred feet from the base of the cliffs on the northern shore, surrounded by towering cliffs and boulders.

Harry hadn't set up a tent in the dark in quite a while. Ranma finished her tent in less than a minute and bade Harry goodnight. He spent the better part of a half-hour trying figure out which pole went where. The tent was the same one he had spent so many nights in with Ron and Hermione back in his seventh year. It had seen better days. He figured he must have grabbed it subconsciously when woken in the middle of the night and made to leave in a rush. He was almost tempted to cast the same series of charms Hermione worked out to keep them hidden during that year, just for sentimental reasons.

He climbed inside and sank down onto one of the cots gratefully, asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

------

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Harry's scream was cut short when he hit the cold ocean water. He swallowed a mouthful of water and struggled to swim towards the surface, still dressed in last night's clothing. He broke the surface and began coughing up sea water. The water wasn't too deep where he landed, but the waves where breaking over his head. He started swimming to shore until he could wade, only to find Ranma waiting on the beach looking smug.

"I hate you, you know."

Ranma frowned. "That's not a way to win a lady over."

"You're hardly a lady."

"Oops. Forgot. Ready to train?"

"I still hate you." Harry crawled up onto the beach and collapsed, glaring up balefully at Ranma. "Was it really necessary to throw me in the ocean?"

"No, but it was fun." She offered a hand to help him up. He reached up and grabbed it, and at the same time wandlessly cast the strongest banishing charm he could when he made contact with her hand. He watched in satisfaction as Ranma flew out over the ocean. He watched her flip several times before entering the water in a perfect dive, barely making a splash.

Harry smirked. "Now that was fun."

As soon as he said that the surface of the water where Ranma had entered erupted with a prodigious splash. A flash of red streaked overhead to land on the beach behind Harry. He whipped around, only to find Ranma standing behind him, rearranging her clothing and only slightly damp.

"How did you do that?"

Her smile wasn't pleasant. "You're going to find out."

-------

Ranma took him about twenty yards away from one of the taller boulders on the beach, easily thirty feet high. "How would you get up there from here?"

Harry blinked. "I'd probably apparate."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Without magic."

"Um… Walk over and climb it? Why?"

"You wanted to know what I did this morning, right? Well, I jumped. Like this." Ranma bent her knees and jumped, launching away from Harry's and landing lightly on the top of the bolder. She turned and waved, and then jumped again, landing lightly next to Harry.

"That's… pretty cool." Harry shook his head. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, but whenever Ranma demonstrated some technique he couldn't help but be impressed. "So I take it your going to be teaching me to do that?"

Ranma nodded. "Eventually. But for now, you're going to start small."

------

Starting small began easy enough. Ranma had Harry jumping on top of a foot-high rock and jumping off, before hoping over the rock and repeating. It was pretty easy, but after about half an hour it rapidly became progressively excruciating as Ranma made him jump faster and higher. His legs started burning, and soon Harry was struggling to make the jumps.

Ranma called a break after about and hour. "Sit."

Harry flopped gratefully onto the beach. "I can't feel my legs."

"Good. That should make the next part easier." Ranma sat down next to him. "This will be your first exercise in using ki. But first, you'll need to be able to find it, and then push it into your legs. But first, what does it feel like for you to use magic? I mean, physically? What does the flow of magic feel like?"

"Hmmm…" Harry cast an easy stun spell at Ranma, who batted it away reflexively. Harry looked at his hand. "It feels like building up tension in my core, and it rushing out through my body. Why?"

"Then this might not take as long as I thought." Ranma said, "Would you describe the feeling as a tingling, or a swelling?"

"Umm…" Harry paused. "More like a swelling. It keeps building until I have the amount needed to use it."

"And when you use it, would you say it happens instantly or gradually?"

Harry shrugged. "Instantly, I guess."

Ranma held up her hands. In one a ball of water formed, and the other cackled with electricity. "I think magic acts like electricity - The charge builds, and then jumps from one point to another." The electricity in her palm sparked and vanished. "Ki, however, flows like water. If electricity takes the path of least resistance, water takes whatever path is available, and so can be a lot harder to control, because it requires making sure it does exactly what you want or you can waste it." The sphere of water popped and cascaded down her hand, dripping onto her arm and draining into the sand.

Harry frowned. "That sounds… different."

Ranma nodded. "It is. I feel like it's much easier to use magic in some ways. It either happens or it doesn't. With ki, though, it isn't whether you can use it or not, but if you can both control and utilize it. If you can't control it you can't use it, and if you can't use it, you can't control it."

"A catch-22 then."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of like taking a pee – your body knows how to do it, but it requires conscious control to relax the muscles holding it back. It also takes it a bit to start flowing through your body. You can stop it too, but it isn't an instant process."

"That's gross."

Ranma nodded. "Thanks. I thought of that analogy myself. Anyhow, we have to get you in touch with your ki first."

"How do I do that?"

"By breathing!"

------

Ranma demonstrated how she wanted him to breath by using his diaphragm. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths. Her shoulders didn't move, and by the third breath she was glowing visibly as a bright blue aura radiated from her body. It grew with every breath until it looked like she was sitting in the heart of a blue bonfire, lighting up the beach. She opened her eyes and began to breathe normally, and the aura receded quickly.

Harry blinked as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden lack of light.

Soon, Harry was seated next to Ranma as she guided him through the process. He soon learned that it was probably the hardest exercise he had done yet, as it took complete concentration and muscle control. He was already fatigued from the training, meaning he had to pay attention to every action of his breath. He took a long slow inhale using only his diaphragm, and a rapid, forceful exhale, emptying the lungs of all his oxygen. One or two breaths wasn't hard, but after an hour of continuous breathing, his ribs and stomach felt like they were on fire from the strain.

When his concentration lapsed or fatigue caught up to him, Ranma made him do jumping exercises, mixed with an occasional spar.

Ranma explained that the breathing exercises were to make Harry feel his ki welling from the center of his body and radiating outward. According to Ranma, he would know if he felt it because "it would feel like a combination of fire and ice coursing through your body." The fatigue would highlight the feeling as even the slightest bit of ki would feel like "the biggest energy boost in the world." However, by nightfall, the only thing Harry had felt was light headed, his legs were killing him, and his abdomen felt like it had been used like a punching bag.

The moon came up before Ranma called a halt to the training. Harry had to be helped up out of his sitting position before he could stagger back to the campsite and collapse in a heap. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he was jostled awake by Ranma pushing him into an upright position and thrusting a bowl of stew under his nose.

"Here. Eat this."

He tried to push the bowl away, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep. "Don't wanna."

"Eat."

Harry took the bowl and rested it against his knees. He took his spoon and mechanically took a bite. Soon, he was scraping the bottom of the bowl, surprised to find he was ravenous. Ranma laughed as she took the bowl from him and served him seconds, thirds, and then fourths.

Ranma finished her stew and began to clean up. She pointed to Harry's tent. "You got a hot tub or bath in that thing?"

Harry nodded his head, too tired to really speak.

"Which one?"

"A bath," he managed to croak out.

"Okay. Give me a minute, then." Ranma stood up and walked into the tent, leaving Harry on the beach. He must have fallen asleep again, because he was woken up by Ranma lifting him into a fireman's carry and walking to the tent. She gently placed him on his feet once they were inside the tent and in the bathroom. "The bath's ready. Take a long soak, it will help." She made sure he was steady on his feet before backing away. "You can either undress yourself or climb in with your clothes on. I'll come back in a few minutes, okay?"

Harry nodded and began to take off his clothes, groaning as the soreness kicked in. He could barely reach down and untie his shoes due to the soreness of his stomach muscles. Once he was fully undressed, he staggered over to the bathtub and climbed in. He sank slowly into the steaming water and groaned as it worked its own special brand of magic on his abused muscles.

Ranma's voice called, "You in?"

"Yeah."

"Good." A hand towel landed softly on his face.

He pulled the towel off his face and asked, "What's this for?"

"Decency. Cover up, I'm coming in. Tell me when you're ready."

Harry quickly plunged the towel into the water to cover his nakedness. "Alright."

Ranma peaked around the flap that served to section off the bathing room from the rest of the tent. "How're you feeling?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "How do you think?"

Ranma smirked and came into the room, pulling up a stool and sitting by the edge of the tub. "Make sure that if you fall asleep, you don't fall into the water, okay?"

"Sure." Harry sank lower into the water and closed his eyes.

"You did great today, Harry. Really good."

He opened one eye a crack to look at her. "Umm. Thanks?" He was about to close his eye again when he say Ranma open her mouth to say something, but she stopped. "What?"

Ranma hesitated again. She gave a small shake of her head a wry smile, and shrugged. "It's nothing."

"You can't do that to me. Come on, tell me!"

"Nice… abs." With a wink she headed out of the tent, a small smile on her face at the sight of Harry embarrassed.

---------

Ranma sighed and crawled into her little one person tent, zipping up the flap behind her as she sprawled out on her sleeping bag. She looked up at the domed roof, trying to organize her thoughts.

All the various "training exercises" she had done with Ku Lon made it seem easy. Take small steps, she said. Get comfortable with the idea, she said. Learn to enjoy some of the more nice aspects of being a female, find appreciation in the beauty of the male form. Bloody easy for the old crone to say, but sixteen years of conditioning piled on top of sixteen years of denial weren't going to go away overnight.

With a frustrated sigh, Ranma sat up and began some meditation exercises. She'd go back and check on Harry in an hour, and then she'd spend the rest of the night meditating. As easy as it was to be around Harry, the thought of anything more than friendship was still a bitter pill to swallow, no matter how much she realized she might want it.

Tomorrow was another day. Anyway, there was more training to do, and she was determined to make up for lost time.

------

Harry could barely stand upright as the portkey brought them home. Ranma was carrying all their stuff because he was too sore to do more than shuffle pitifully through the front door. The weekend training trip had been brutal, but strangely enough, exciting. It was like being hit with a tickling curse that just wouldn't stop – it was enjoyable and painful, all at the same time.

When they entered the apartment, Ranma dropped Harry's bag off in his room and returned quickly.

"Ranma?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to go out tomorrow night?"

She cocked her head and smiled. "Sure. Where too?"

"No, a date. You said I could ask again."

She nodded. "I did."

"Well?"

"Sure." She smirked then half turned away from him. "You'll be too sore tomorrow to do much of anything, even if I was offering. Night, Harry."

"Night, you sadistic bitch."

"Awww… a pet name for me all ready? You're so sweet." She reached up and patted him on the cheek before heading off to bed.

"Um… Ranma?"

"Yes?" Her voice carried back from down the hall.

"I can't make it to my bed alone. I'm too sore."

"The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril. I'm sure you'll manage."

Ranma was right, though. The next night, he was too sore to do much of anything in terms of a date. They ended up staying in and watching television together on the couch. In many ways, though, it was simply perfect – they talked and laughed all night long.

It was the best "date" Harry could remember in a long time.

-----

Unfortunately, it was also one of the few they were able to really enjoy. Between work, training, and everything else, it seemed like summer vacation arrived in no time. And with it, a new complication, Cheli.

Attempting to ignore the yelling his daughter, Harry made a record of his observations in his lab journal. The search for the Stone was still unsuccessful so far, but he'd been trying other methods of locating it besides archeology.

"DAAAAD!"

With a frustrated sigh, Harry killed the flames under the cauldron and closed his notebook, carefully stepping away from the workstation. He did a quick sweep to ensure that nothing had been left on before stepping out of his laboratory into the apartment.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!"

He yanked open the door to see his daughter standing there, getting ready to yell once more.

"What is it?" He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice but failed.

"It's Ranma." Cheli was standing in the hall, glaring towards the living room. "She moved all the furniture in the living room again."

"And why is that a problem?"

"I wanted to watch TV."

"You have one in your room, don't you?"

"So?" Cheli shrugged. "You told me I shouldn't watch TV in my room so that I can develop better study habits."

"As much as I could wish you would study over the summer, we both know that isn't going to happen. Would it kill you to watch TV in your room?"

"The one in the living room is better."

Harry rubbed his forehead to hide his consternation. "You know," he sighed, "you could just wait for her to replace all the furniture."

"I don't want to wait; I want to watch TV now."

"She's a guest, Cheli. Treat her with as much respect as you would treat any guest, please."

"More like a leech. How long has she been living here?"

"Does it matter? She's still a guest. Treat her as such, please."

"Guest or not, I don't want anything to do with your…"

At that moment Ranma came around the corner with a towel around her shoulders. She looked as if she had just finished a light workout and was headed to the bathroom. "Don't want anything to do with your dad's what?"

Harry's daughter glared at the older woman. "Oh, I can think of a few choice words."

Ranma opened her mouth like she was going to reply when Harry interrupted. "And so can I, Cheli. Ranma's my teacher, my friend, and a guest in this house. You will treat her with respect."

Cheli put her nose up in the air turned on her heel and stalked away to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Harry looked at Ranma with a bemused expression. "I know Cheli has only been home for a few days, but could you find it in your heart to try and get along a little better?"

Ranma shrugged apologetically. "It's not like I haven't been trying. She just seems to harbor a great dislike for me."

"All that I can ask is that you continue to try. Otherwise there will be no way that I can maintain my sanity this summer."

Ranma nodded and shifted her weight. "So, how's work coming along?"

Since their trip to Jusenkyou, Harry had requested a temporary change of assignment from his Auror duties to pursue a research project. In reality, it was mostly for selfish reasons – to stay at home with his daughter and spend more time with Ranma, but also had the added benefit of figuring out just how the Jusenkyou magic worked.

Harry had enlisted the help of the brightest witch he knew, (Hermione), who, along with a few fellow Unspeakables, had been rigorously studying of the water samples Harry had retrieved at Jusenkyou. They also enlisted (hired, really) Bill Weasely's help from Gringotts, as he was the best curse-breaker in England.

While they shuffled back and forth to the Ministry for status updates, Harry had his own own private lab. There had been trips to various magical libraries around the country on a number of occasions to check for any additional resources on transformative curses applied through non-magical means, like the Jusenkyou curse. Bill brought practical experience to the manipulation of curses, something neither Harry nor Hermione excelled at.

They were attempting to break down the magic that in the water into its component parts to better understand how it worked. Hermione got the idea from muggle science of engineering – the theory was that if you understood the way the curse reacted to magic, you could control or even reverse engineer the process. So far they'd managed to identify several hundred components in the water, but still had a long way to go before they would be able recreate or control the curse. The Unspeakables in the ministry, of course, were just fascinated with the implications of the research.

Unfortunately, even inside of China, Juskenkyo wasn't very well documented and there was very little research about it or curses of similar nature. Requests made to the Chinese Ministry of Magic had yielded few results as the Chinese jealously guarded whatever secrets they might have had about the region. Harry had his suspicions that they guarded it so jealously because they were afraid to admit they didn't know.

Harry shrugged. "It's coming along. Are we going to train today?"

Ranma nodded. "Sure. I was thinking of running over to the dojo at around four o'clock."

"Excellent." Harry stepped past Ranma towards the living room so that he can use the flue. "I just have to make a call to Hermione. She wants to come over today and run some tests on you. Will that be okay?"

Ranma nodded.

"I'll be ready at four." Harry stopped and turned to look at his friend. "Ranma, do you think we could also invite Cheli this time?"

Ranma grimaced briefly. "Sure. She can come if she's going to be serious about training. If she wants to be a baby, though, I'll treat her like one."

"Please, Ranma!"

"Sorry." Ranma didn't seem contrite in the least. "I'll be nice to her if she is nice to me. I only give respect to those who earn it."

"She's my daughter."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sure she's a nice kid, but I've yet to see it."

"Ranma, she's fifteen. She can't help it." He gave a little laugh. "With you here, though, she's taking her angst out on you and not me for once. Thank heavens for small mercies, right?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. Harry could tell her mood had improved, though. "I'll talk to her this afternoon before we go, okay?"

"I'd appreciate that, Harry."

Harry nodded and walked off down the hall.

Ranma headed off to her own bedroom. Harry and Ranma's relationship hadn't really changed, except perhaps she was less… reserved around him. Maybe it was her decision to actually go out on dates with him. There was no physical intimacy outside of the occasional fist to the ribs and back rubs, however.

However, it had become common for them to talk to each other about their past; she actively sought Harry to talk because she claimed it was therapeutic. In addition, she had up their training schedule for once a day to twice a day, morning and evening. Not only was Harry in great physical shape, but Ranma was pushing hard in a meditative aspect of the Art, so that he could learn to touch his ki. She claimed she didn't want to have to be the person to come up with a unified theory of Magic. As a result, if Harry wasn't working on his research, he was training with Ranma, both physically and mentally.

Harry pushed Ranma in the realm of magic as well. The two of them had settled into a routine. Ranma would drag him out of bed early the morning and put him through several hours of rigorous training, after which Harry would assign study goals and the training regimen for Ranma. The afternoons were devoted mostly to Harry's research on the Jusenkyou water, with the occasionally evening outing to search for the Stone. In the evenings Harry wasn't in the Forbidden Forest, there would be a meditative practice for Harry and a final practical magic training session for Ranma.

Harry didn't think he'd ever been more productive or happier in a long time. He headed to the fireplace to call Hermione. She'd probably want to know that he managed to separate two more components of the water.

------

"Who would have believed that I would eventually have to use Golpalott's Third Law?" Harry's disembodied head floated in the green flames of the fireplace in Hermione's lab as they discussed their latest progress.

Hermione smiled. "Well, a bezoar won't help you understand what a substance is composed of."

"I know, I just find it ironic, you know? Still, I wish I had the Prince's old lab book. Or better yet, Snape."

Hermione made a face. "But he was slimy."

"He was a bit of a git, wasn't he?" Harry's floating head jiggled as he laughed. "However much he hated me, Snape really was a genius."

"True." Hermione glanced down briefly at her notes. "So, what are these two new components?"

Harry's head vanished briefly as he consulted his lab book on the other side of the connection. It popped back in quickly. "Both of them are mineral components, which is funny that we didn't find them when we ran the mineral array. The first one is…"

"DAAAAD!!!"

Both Harry and Hermione jumped as Cheli's shout interrupted him.

Harry pulled his head out of the fireplace. This couldn't be good. He stuck his head back in the fireplace. "Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll call you right back. I think an emergency had cropped up here."

The bushy hair-witch nodded. "Alright. We still on for this evening, though?"

"Yeah." Harry's disembodied head cocked an ear as if listening to something in the distance. "Sorry. I've really got to go."

With a pop, his head vanished from the flames. Hermione just shook her head. What ever it was, it she hoped it wasn't too serious.

-------

The emergency turned out to be that Ranma had made lunch. Cheli complained bitterly about the mostly vegetarian fare.

Cheli grumbled and picked at her food and made gagging sounds every time she took a bite. Ranma rolled her eyes at Cheli and her theatrics.

"Can't you two even try to get along?" he groused. He thanked Ranma for cooking and quickly left the table. "I'll be in my lab if you decide to kill each other." He wasn't reassured by Ranma's statement that followed him back to his door.

"Only one of us would get killed, and it sure won't be me."

-------

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly - Harry remained in the lab, Ranma practiced magic in the living room, and Cheli locked herself in her room and blasted music loud enough to be heard throughout the rest of the apartment. Before heading to train, Ranma stopped by Cheli's room knocking on the door. The music died suddenly, but she didn't get an answer, so knocked again.

"What do you want?" came the muffled reply from behind the door.

"Your father requested that I extend an invitation to you to join us for this afternoon's training." Ranma heard Cheli's footsteps coming towards the door before it opened a fraction of an inch. A sliver of the teenager's face was just visible through the crack. "You can either watch or practice, your choice."

"Why would I want to come?" Even though

Ranma shrugged. "I don't care if you do." Ranma turned and said over her shoulder, "If you'd like to come, we'll be leaving in fifteen minutes" before she walked away. She heard the teen muttering unintelligibly for a bit as the door closed behind her.

-------

Cheli grumbled as she sat in the corner of the dojo, watching her dad warm up as Ranma meditated. She was bored, but not bored enough to actually take part. Her boredom quickly became concern as she watched her dad sparring with Ranma. Within a matter of minutes, her dad was being punched, kicked, and thrown all over the floor with a wild grin on his face.

"Oh my god..." she muttered, "That bitch has brainwashed him!" She was Achelios Potter. She wouldn't stand around and let her dad get abused like that if she could help it.

-------

The last three weeks had been rather difficult. The only peace Harry could find was in his lab, because Cheli had started coming to the dojo to make sure "that red-haired witch" didn't kill him. As much as he loved his daughter, right now he wanted to strangle her because of all the aggravation the tension between her and his guest. He did try to strangle Ranma on occasion. It was cathartic and useful their sparring matches. She seemed to understand and simply indulged him when he lashed out at her in frustration.

At least Cheli had started joining him in some of the training sessions. Ranma was no harder on her than she was on Harry, but he could tell that teaching Cheli always put her in a bad mood. Cheli was obstinate and petty, and messed up on purpose to try and goad Ranma into losing her temper. At least while in the dojo, Ranma treated his daughter with detached professionalism. At home, however… the ladies spent most of their time avoiding each other and Harry had forbid Cheli from entering the lab while he was working. He would have banned Ranma too, except that she was one of the test subjects.

He frowned and put the thoughts aside. Harry turned the speed replay on the omnioculars to their lowest setting (about 128 frames a second). He put the omnioculars on and poured some hot water on a toad watched as the test subject turned into a mouse. He saved the play back and poured some cold water on the mouse, capturing the change back to its original state.

Ranma sat in the corner of the lab, trying to be interested in watching the toad change back and forth as Harry tested various aspects of the curse. Having lived with it herself, though, she just couldn't muster up the necessary attention to remain totally focused on the experiment. She was looking around the lab at the various jars and beakers lined neatly on the shelves. She'd seen enough of Harry's memories in the pensieve to know what Snape's lab had looked like in the dungeons of Hogwarts, and she was grateful that Harry's work space was much less… dismal.

Harry had taken an unused bedroom and stripped it bare, putting a granite topped-work station in the middle of the room. The windows had heavy curtains to filter the light (some potions were light sensitive), but the high ceilings and wooden floors gave the lab a utilitarian and cheerful air. There was a cauldron in one corner, but Harry preferred to use Bunsen burners and chemistry beakers for most of his work because it was much easier to control temperature and quantity. The glass helped keep the lab from feeling oppressive.

Various cages of small animals sat on a shelf, each cursed like the toad that Harry was experimenting on. The Jusenkyo guide had been kind enough to catch animals that happened to fall into the various springs and kept them for Harry, who had made a couple trips to the region to pick up specimens. She watched in amusement as small rat tried to take a sip of his cage's water bottle only to somehow get splashed and turn into turtle. The randomness of how the curse worked made her smile as she recalled all the inopportune times she had been transformed.

She was so lost in her musing that she missed Harry's question.

"What was that?"

Harry tsked. "Honestly, Ranma." He held out the goggles to her. "Can you tell me if you see anything in these about ki flows?"

"Oh, yeah. One sec." She put them on and fiddled with a few buttons, and watched the change in slow motion. Just to make sure she didn't miss anything, she watched each change a number of times, but shook her head when Harry asked again.

"Nothing. The creature just isn't putting out a field of ki that's visible, and I can't sense any changes." She shrugged. "I guess it just happens too fast or…" She handed back the omnioculars.

Harry muttered and made some notes in a rather large lab book after taking some detailed measurements of the toad. He picked up his wand to cast some spells but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Cheli poked her head in and pushed the door open, leading Hermione in behind her.

Hermione waved and dropped her book bag on the counter with a resounding thud. The toad jumped in surprise and landed in a beaker of cold water, turning into a very wet and very confused mouse.

"Hi Ranma!" Hermione proceeded to pull out book after book and place them on the counter, opening a couple of them to bookmarked places.

Ramna waved and smiled, but otherwise sat still as Hermione and Harry proceeded to compare notes while she watched the playback of the toad transforming.

"And you didn't notice anything, Ranma?" The mousy-haired witch asked.

"Nope. I was telling Harry that I don't think I'll be able to really detect anything from these animals. Their ki-fields are just to small and the change is too quick."

Hermione frowned and pulled out yet another book from her bag, checking a quick reference. "Well, what do you suggest, then?"

"Maybe if we used Shampoo and Mousse?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't see how hair care products are going to help with this!"

Harry laughed. "No, I think he means his friend in China."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "You think they'd mind?"

------

Harry and Ku Lon stood off to the side and watched as Hermione recorded the transformations of the two younger Chinese Amazons, Xian Pu and Mu Tsu. Ranma had directed them to put out a visible aura of ki prior to being hit with the water and switching to their smaller animal forms.

"So, mage, how goes the quest for to teach Ranma to love?"

He leaned in and whispered, "Just last week she proclaimed her love for me and we're already expecting our first child."

Ku Lon's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course not." His vision blurred as he was rapped soundly on the head by the end of Ku Lon's staff. "Ow!" he rubbed the rapidly forming knot on the top of his head and glared at the diminutive woman. "That hurt!"

"It was supposed to." The pair watched as Ranma hopped around in terror as small purple and white cat leapt after her. "How is she, though?"

"Honestly? As happy as I've ever seen her. I don't know what she was like before, but since coming here last..." Harry pointed at Hermione. "She making friends and talking to people. We've been going out on dates. Not as many as I'd like, but I'll take what I can get at this point. She plans on taking me to Akane's grave for some Japanese ceremony. I can't remember the name, but it sounds like buns."

"O-bon?"

"Yeah, that one."

Ku Lon nodded. "She is making progress, then." They watched as Mousse transformed back into his human form and pulled the small cat off the now comatose Ranma's leg and gently stroking her back. The purring was audible from where they stood.

"And you?"

Harry shrugged silently. "I'd like to move a little faster, but I don't think it would be wise."

"Indeed. Terribly difficult, isn't it?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "I thought that this feeling would have gone away when I found out once I found out what she really was. But…"

Ku Lon nodded. "Yes. The body is what creates the initial attraction, but it is the soul that holds your interest." She reached up and patted him gently on the shoulder. "Do you have any experience breaking wild horses, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked at her askance. "No. Why?"

Ku Lon's eyes sparkled a bit as she spoke. "Perhaps you should take up equestrian arts. Good luck, Mr. Potter."

"Gee, thanks."

She cackled and bounded away on her cane to Ranma. She flipped her body over and poked her sharply in the ribs several times before flipping her staff over and taking a golf swing at the red-head, sending her flying into Harry. Harry tried to catch her but ended up landing in a tangle of limbs on the ground. Ranma's eyes flew open and she snarled at Harry who quickly shouted, "Ku Lon did it!"

Ranma jumped up and lashed out at the old woman, starting a fight that took the two of them into the center of the village. Hermione walked over and offered a hand to help him off the ground and mentioned that she got the recordings she needed. Together, the two went looking for their friend so they could get home. It wasn't hard to find her – they just followed the trail of the other Amazons rushing to watch the fight.

-----

Ranma kept rubbing her ribs where Ku Lon had poked her and frowning surreptitiously at Harry. She took the omnioculars from Hermione and put Harry out of her head. She first watched Xian Pu transform into a cat before watching Mu Tsu change into a duck and back. She didn't notice anything at regular speed, so she slowed it down to half speed and watched again.

She frowned. Something definitely happened at the moment water hit the skin. She slowed the playback down further, and watched again.

Hermione noticed her concentration. "You see something?"

Ranma held up her hand. "Yeah, just a moment."

--------

"Stop." Ranma jumped up and pointed at the image of Mu Tsu projected on the wall. "Right there is when it happens." She pointed at the glowing blue field that surrounded the man and the trickle of water that was frozen just a fraction of an inch above his skin in the picture. Harry, with George Weasley's help, had managed to rig up the ominoculars so that the could project their images.

"Harry, can you zoom in on this section here and focus?" She indicated a section of Mu Tsu's aura that was projected onto a white back ground. "See how his Ki field is a uniform blue? The color is completely solid with gradations of hue the further it gets from his body." She pointed at the aura field, using her fingers to point out the color differences. "Advance one frame at a time, and stop when I tell you." The play back advanced slide by slide, until Ranma asked them to stop.

"Okay. Harry, can you pull up a clip of hot water hitting me and keep this portion of the video available?"

"Just a minute." Harry fiddled with the omnioculars for a second and did as asked, putting Mu Tsu's clip off to the side as Ranma's image floated in the air before them.

"Great! Okay, advance one slide at a time… And stop. Can you put these two side by side?"

Harry fiddled with the omnioculars again until the two images floated next to each other.

Ranma smirked and asked, "What do you see?"

Hermione and Harry both looked closely at the images and shrugged. "What are we supposed to see?"

"Okay, let's try this." Ranma pointed at Mu Tsu's image. "Can you set this thing to repeat from back two slides and then forward past this slide for two more and do the same for my image?"

"Yeah, one sec." After a few moments, both images progressed slowly from pre-to-post impact.

"See anything now?"

Harry concentrated on the images as they repeated before him. He didn't know what it was he was looking for, but he did notice one difference. "The colors on your slides change, but Mu Tsu's don't."

Ranma smiled. "Yeap! What else?"

"Umm… Mu Tsu's aura isn't steady?" That was Hermione

"Right. There are a few other things, but those are the major issues." She pointed to Mu Tsu's repeating image set. "Right here is when the water impacts and in the next slide you see that his aura isn't constant. It's his aura blinked – too fast for you to notice, but it definitely went out."

"So, what does that mean?" Asked Hermione.

Ranma shrugged. "I think it's the magic working – my guess is the curse probably uses your own ki to initiate the change. It probably converts your ki into the amount of magic necessary to change the body and conserve power – this way the victim changes back and forth as many times as necessary without strain."

"So what's happening to you, then?" Harry pointed to the images of Ranma's aura. Rather than flicker like Mu Tsu's, Ranma's aura went from a constant steady blue with gradients to exploding outward in a solid blue.

Ranma looked at her own images and frowned. "It almost looks like a power surge or a short circuit."

"Are you aware of this happening?"

Ranma shook her head. "I can't feel it, if that's what you're asking."

Harry shut down the images. "Let's go to the lab. I want to try a few things."

-------

"Whatchyadoing?"

Ranma wanted to turn around and snarl. Instead, she took a calming breath and turned to face her assailant. "I'm doing homework, Cheli. Can I help you with something?"

Cheli shrugged. "I'm bored." She moved around Ranma's room, idly fingering the few possessions Ranma had on the bookshelf near the door. Ranma watched her from the desk she was seated at, her face passive.

"You could go practice the kata I assigned to you. Your footwork is still very, very sloppy."

"I don't want to do any more exercise."

"Don't you have anyone else you could call? I'm rather busy with homework right now." Ranma tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. She really did.

"Ewww!" Cheli wrinkled her nose up in disgust. "Why are you doing homework?"

"I'm very behind in terms of magic. I'd like to catch up."

"Hmm…" Cheli looked over her shoulder at the book Ranma had been reading. "Transfigurations?"

"Yes."

"Do you like it?"

Ranma shrugged. "It's hard."

"So why bother if it's hard?"

"All good things are worth working for. Worthwhile skills are never easy."

Cheli flitted from the book to a scroll of a carp hanging above the desk. "Where'd ya get that?"

"It was given to me by a friend."

"Oh." She looked closer at it and noticed block of ink in the upper right hand corner. She pointed at the characters on the side. "What's that?"

"It's a poem."

"What's it say?"

"It's the opening line to a famous work of Japanese literature. It reads, '_Gion shôja no kane no koe, shogyô mujô no hibiki ari_."

"Japanese? That's cool, I guess. What's that mean?"

Ranma thought for a second. "I guess a good translation would be '_The bell of the Gion Temple echoes the impermanence of all things'_."

Cheli snorted. "That's not a very good poem."

"If you say so. It's a Buddhist sentiment, anyway."

"Bhuddhism? That's weird?"

"It's… philosophy that is practiced throughout Asia." Cheli said nothing in response, simply leaning in closer to get a better look.

"What's with the ugly fish, then?"

Ranma pointed at the carp. "In Japan, they believe that the carp is the embodiment of courage and perseverance because it climbs up waterfalls. If the fish fights hard enough and long enough, it turns into a dragon and ascends to heaven."

"Oh." Cheli dismissed it and turned to examine the rest of the room. The bookshelf near the door was mostly empty except for some of Cheli's old text books. There was a chest and a wardrobe in the room, but besides the desk and painting above it, the room was bare and unadorned. A single white feather that looked like it was on fire rested on pillow on top of the desk.

"What's that?" She reached for it, only to be startled when Ranma gently grabbed her wrist and prevented her from grabbing it.

"That's something that I would ask you not to touch."

"Why?"

"It is a very personal reminder that people can change."

"Fine." Cheli tried to pull her hand free and failed. "Will you let me go?"

Ranma dropped her hand and stood. Ranma was only a little taller than Cheli. The teen reached up and gently touched a strand of Ranma's hair. "Are you a natural red-head? I thought Asians all had black hair." Though both had red-hair, Cheli's was extremely fine bright red, pulled back into a simply pony tail, where as Ranma's was a darker shade and thick, twisted into a braid.

"Yes." Ranma stepped back and put a bit of distance between them. "I got lucky, I guess."

"Hmm…" Cheli moved away from the desk and back to the book case. She picked up Ranma's shakuhachi. "What's this?"

Ranma gently reached around her and plucked the wooden flute from her hands. "It's a flute." She gently returned it to its resting place.

Cheli ducked under Ranma's arm and plopped down on her bed.

"Is there a reason you're here?"

The teen shrugged. "Like I said, I'm bored."

"You mentioned that already." Ranma stared at the teen, who just stared right back at her. Ranma just stared at Cheli until she broke eye contact and started looking around the room. Ranma went back to her homework, attempting to ignore the teen as she flitted about the room, examining Ranma's few possessions.

"Not a very feminine room, is it?"

Ranma didn't look at her or put down her pen. "I'm a tomboy."

"I don't see why my dad likes you so much. You seem pretty boring to me."

Ranma put down her pen. "Why don't you ask him, then?"

"I did."

"Oh?"

Cheli shrugged. "He said that you make him feel happy."

"So there you go. Any more questions? I want to get this done before tonight's experiments." Ranma nodded at the parchment spread out in front of her.

Cheli hesitated and seemed reluctant to leave the room.

Ranma sighed. "What do you want, Cheli?"

The teen sat back down on the bed. "My dad wants me to be nice to you, so…" She rolled her eyes and pulled her feet up on the bed to sit cross-legged on top of the comforter. "Plus, you've lasted a lot longer than any of my dad's other girlfriends."

Ranma didn't quite know what to say to that. In the end, she settled for a simple, "Thank you, I guess. Harry's a… very good person."

"If you say so."

"I do. He's my student, and he's my instructor in magic. He's a rare soul."

"Uh huh. Look Ranma, I may be fifteen but I'm not stupid."

Ranma snorted. "Whatever."

Ranma ignored her and turned back to her work. After a while, the teen got the message and left the room.

--------

Dinner was a fairly quiet affair. Cheli at quickly and went to her room, while Harry was studying his notes from the latest rounds of testing Jusenkyo victims. Ranma let her mind drift over her dinner and would find herself gazing over at Harry when she wasn't paying attention. Disgusted with herself, she finished the rest of her meal and cleaned the dishes before retreating to her room.

Her dreams that night left her even more disturbed. They were highly erotic, and involved her female self and a certain green-eyed man. She awoke with a start and cursed. Regardless of how her mind felt, her body had responded to the stimulus normally. She peeled of her underwear and wrapped a towel around her body, heading to the bathroom.

She took a long bath with the water as hot as she could stand. She was up well before the rest of the household, so she didn't have to worry about hogging the bathroom. The hot water helped her release the tension the dream had caused her, and before she knew it she had drifted back to sleep.

She awoke about an hour later and the water was still warm. She let out a sigh and thought about the last time she had woken up in the bath. She stepped out of the tub and drained the water, examining herself in the mirror. Her eyes narrowed as she examined her ribs. Her mind flashed back to the last time she was in China, remembering three distinct shots to the ribs from a certain matriarch.

She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Ku Lon."

Dressing quickly, she went back to her room and pulled out some pressure point and anatomy charts.

-------

"Whatchyadoing?"

Ranma banged her head against the desk, but was careful not to crack it. The last time she put a bit too much force into it and split the desk in half. She ended up having to repair the desk with a spell, but she wasn't sure she had done it correctly as the desk now had a funny wobble that hadn't been present before. "Homework. What do you think?"

Cheli wrinkled her nose in disgust as she flopped belly first on Ranma's bed. She pulled her torso up a bit so she could rest her elbows on the mattress and rest her chin in her hands as she stared at the older woman. "I don't see how you can stand to study so much."

"Your father says you could probably stand to study more."

"Yeah, well he's a stick in the mud, too."

"Hmm. I wonder if you make him that way."

"Ha ha. Funny." Cheli rolled onto her side so she was facing Ranma, head supported on one hand. "So what are you working on now, wonder woman?"

Ranma shrugged. "Repairing charms. I still haven't fixed this desk properly."

"You could just ask my dad to fix it. He's pretty good at those."

"But then I wouldn't learn it, would I?" Ranma flipped another page, briefly taking notes in the margins.

"But why bother if he's able to do it for you?"

"Because I might not always have someone around who can do it better than I can. It took me a while to appreciate the necessity of being good at everything, but I don't mind so much anymore." She turned a page in her book and kept reading. "Why are you here again?"

"I'm bored."

Ranma snorted. "Go play in the backyard or something."

"We don't have one."

"I know. It's a figure of speech." She gave up on her homework for now and stood up from the desk. "Move over." Cheli rolled over until she was on her back and sat up, moving back against the wall. Ranma sat on the bed as well, scooting back until they were side by side.

"He really does like you, you know."

Ranma nodded. "I know." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. "Do we really have to talk about this again?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Great justification."

"And?"

"And nothing. I can't believe I'm even talking to you about this."

"He's my dad. I just want to see him happy."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do too."

"You could make it a lot easier on him, you know."

"It's… difficult."

"Why's that?"

"Long story. Just trust me on this one." She put her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling.

"Is it about that whole you were a man thing? He explained it to me. I don't know if I believe it, but still… seems like an excuse to me." Cheli pushed herself back against the wall next to Ranma and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Aren't the least bit curious?"

Ranma looked at her askance. "Would you suddenly be willing to sleep with women if you were forced to switch sexes?"

Cheli giggled. "I think it would be fun to have a penis."

"For a day maybe. But to be stuck that way for the rest of your life?"

"I could see how that might be difficult." Cheli haltingly asked, "Is the change complete? I mean, did your mind change as well?"

"I don't know." Ranma shrugged. "I'm still me, if that's what you're asking." Ranma tapped her chin with her index finger. "I guess I like ice cream more now than I used to as a guy, but that could just be because I never really had it when I was young."

"Oh."

"I'm sure I'd try, at least." Cheli bit her lip as she thought. "It would give you an interesting perspective."

"Maybe. But you're also a hornball. I'm not wired like that."

"That's too bad. I'd bet it would be fun. Compare and contrast, you know?"

Ranma snorted. "You're welcome to it."

Cheli turned so her back was facing Ranma. "Will you do my hair again?"

Ranma grunted. "Okay, but sit in front of me so I don't throw something out twisting around. I'm getting old, you know." Ranma spread opened her legs into a butterfly position and patted the bed in front of her. "Will you grab that comb of the desk while you're up?" Cheli popped up and crawled over to edge of the bed and grabbed the comb before sitting down between Ranma's legs, her back to Ranma.

Over the past two months, this had become sort of a routine for the girls. Cheli got bored easily and would pester Ranma. Somehow, Ranma had wound up becoming the teenager's personal hair dresser. It gave her something to do with her hands while Cheli was in her room.

"Which side has it better? Men, or women?"

Ranma shrugged and combed out her hair. "I can't say I know, really."

Cheli twisted around violently, yanking her hair out of Ranma's hands as she turned to stare at her. "WHAT?"

Ranma winced. "Volume, please. I might be 'old,' but I can still hear you. Turn back around."

"No way!" Cheli snorted.

"No way what?"

"You're still a virgin? Aren't you, like, 50?"

Ranma gave a rather violent tug on Cheli's hair, eliciting a satisfying grunt from the girl. "I'm in my mid-thirties, if you must know, like your father."

"But that's just it! You're like, ancient! And you haven't had sex yet? That just seems, so… weird! Didn't you like, get married once or something?"

"No, I did not get married. I had a fiancée, but… that person died before it ever got to that stage."

Cheli just shook her head in disbelief. "That's so messed up. Didn't you, like, fool around or anything?"

"Stop shaking your head. You're messing me up."

"Sorry."

"My life was never normal, Cheli."

"Yeah, but I mean… aren't you worried about it growing shut, or something?"

"I really don't want to talk about this with you."

"But I've seen you giving my dad the calf-eyes the last couple of weeks. Why don't you just admit it and do the deed?"

Ranma snorted. "I have not been giving your father the 'calf-eyes." I don't want to discuss this with you."

"Why not?"

"I've known you for two months. What makes you think I want to discuss my sex life with you, particularly since it concerns your dad?" Ranma combed the girl's hair with a bit more force than necessary.

Cheli shrugged. "I guess you have a point." Neither spoke for a while as Cheli got lost in the rhythm of the comb, relaxing as she leaned back against Ranma's stomach.

"I never knew my mom."

Ranma's hand's paused. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You had nothing to do with it."

"It's just that… I understand. I lost my mother when I was four."

Cheli looked at her hands. "How did she die?"

"She didn't." Ranma sighed. "But she is dead to me."

"I don't understand."

Ranma paused in her brushing. "Do you really want to know?"

"Uh huh!"

Ranma resumed brushing, her tone calm. "She… attempted to kill me when I was sixteen."

Cheli paled. "Sorry about that."

Ranma waved the apology away. "Like you said, you had nothing to do with that."

"Do you think you and my dad will get married?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"It's just…" Cheli trailed away. "You've known him now for a while, and between all the magic and the martial arts, he's just… I've never seen him so happy."

"Thanks, I guess." Ranma smiled. "I've been pretty happy, too. How do you want me to do your hair?"

"Oh, umm… Can you do a bun this time?"

"Sure." Ranma fell silent as she worked on her hair, and after a few minute she was done. "Alright, I'm all done here. You wanna get up?"

"Not really." Cheli leaned back more and relaxed completely. "Your room's pretty comfy, and I've got nothing else to do.

Ranma let out a soft chuckle. "I thought you hated me?"

"I did, I think. I don't anymore."

"Oh, why's that?" Ranma asked.

Cheli sat up and hopped over Ranma's legs, sitting next to her. "Can I lie down?"

"I'm never gonna get you out of here, am I?" Ranma pulled her legs under her body, giving the younger red-head space to stretch out.

"Not really." With that, Cheli stretched out and lay down, getting comfortable on the bed.

Ranma just smirked at her. Cheli returned the expression with a glare that had no heat.

"You're just so..." the teen growled. "infuriating."

Ranma laughed. "I could say the same about you."

"Yeah, but I'm not perfect like you are."

"I'm far from perfect, Cheli."

Cheli held up her hand and started ticking off points on her fingers. "You're gorgeous, a kick ass martial-arts kung-fu master, pretty decent at magic and you don't suck at anything. Sounds pretty perfect to me."

Ranma chuckled mirthlessly. "I suck at a lot of things, Cheli. Someone described me once as an 'idiot savant.' I'm only good at a few things, and those few things happen to involve fighting. I've been doing it my whole life, and it's about the only thing I know. I can't balance a checkbook, I'm incapable of making friends, and I don't know how to ask for help."

"But your friends with my dad."

"Your dad is a pretty special person."

"So you do like him?" She grinned.

Ranma gave her a playful swat. "Will you cut that out?"

"You seem to be doing okay talking to me."

Ranma bit her lip. "This isn't easy for me, you know. I'd rather fight a dragon than talk to people."

"A dragon would tear you apart."

"As if."

"It totally would."

Ranma sat up. "Let me show you something." She started unbuttoning the ties on her shirt when Cheli squawked. "Relax." She pulled her right arm out of her shirt and pointed to a scar that ran the across her shoulder and disappeared under her sports bra on her left breast. "A dragon gave this to me in Romania."

Cheli just looked at her with wide eyes, taking in all the other scars that were visible on Ranma's skin. Most were faint, but a few stood out. She hesitantly reached forward. "Can I?"

Ranma shrugged. "Sure."

Cheli traced the top of the scar. The skin felt… softer than the surrounding tissue. "What happened to the dragon?"

"I killed it."

"Really? How?"

"It surprised me and gave me this. I got pissed and kicked it as hard as I could. I ended up crushing its skull."

"There's no way you can kick that hard."

"You saw me destroy a patch of forest up at the Lupin's place, or did you forget?"

"Oh yeah." Cheli's eyes took on a distant look. "So you killed it with a kick? Yuck."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty messy. I don't like killing stuff, but sometimes you have to do it. But it's easier to talk about that than other stuff."

Cheli looked down and noticed another scar on her side that wrapped around to the back of Ranma's kidney. She traced it with her finger. "What happened here?"

"That's where my mother attempted to slice me in half with a sword." Ranma quickly put her arm back inside her shirt. "Showtime's over. I should get back to work." Ranma hopped off the bed and sat back down at the desk again. "You can stick around if you want, but I do need to finish this."

"Alright." Cheli rolled over, and looked at the desk. "I guess that's why I don't really hate you anymore, you know?"

"Why's that?" Ranma turned in her chair.

"You treat me like an adult. You're fair and honest. You make my dad happy. He's finally getting over my mom, and it's hard to hate anyone that can do that for him. Even if you guys don't work out, you've done more for him than anyone I know." She shrugged. "I appreciate it. Plus, you don't mind that I bother you."

"Oh, I mind, I just take it out on you later at the dojo.

Cheli sat up and pointed at her. "I knew it!"

"What, you thought I was that sadistic by nature?" Ranma smirked.

"Yeah!" Cheli had a smile, thought. The teen got up off the bed. "Ranma?"

"What?"

"He's my dad. Family comes first."

"I know. He's pretty tough, Cheli. I wouldn't worry about him."

"But I do. I love him. Even if he's not been the best dad in the world, he's still mine. He'll always be that for me, regardless of what he turns out to be for you."

---------

"Earth to Ranma! Come in Ranma!"

She started and nearly fell off the stool in the lab. "Sorry."

Harry frowned at her. "You alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"Ku Lon did something to me last time we visited. It's made… unable to concentrate very well recently."

"Oh, okay. Anything I can help with?"

"Y… No. It will go away eventually."

"If you say so. Just let me know what I can do."

"Don't worry about it. It should be over soon enough." Like next year, though Ranma bitterly. She really was going to pay the old hag back in spades next time they met. The old Amazon had hit a series of pressure points designed to increase sex drive. It would last for about a year or until pregnancy, which was the main reason for its existence anyway.

The only problem was, Ranma's body was female, and it was responding like a female's body. That meant that Harry's had played an increasingly large role in Ranma's fantasies. While she was willing to try dating Harry, she was far, far from comfortable with any sort of physical intimacy at this point. She could find temporary relief in meditation or masturbation, but both had the tendency of making her spacey. This had only been the first month, and already the… urges were getting stronger.

This might be a good time for a training trip. Yeah, a training trip alone, with Harry… GAAAAHHH. ALONE. A training trip ALONE! Ranma wanted to bash her head against the marble countertop, but she was pretty sure she'd only succeed in breaking the counter, not driving these thoughts out of her head.

Ku Lon was going to die. Okay, well, maybe not, but she could at least inflict an equal amount of pain on the old hag. Maybe she could sick Happosai on the Amazons for punishment?

Worse, Ranma was pretty sure that Hermione suspected. She'd caught the witch hiding a smirk as Ranma stared at various parts of Harry's anatomy or mentally chiding herself for becoming distracted. She knew Cheli was already aware. All in all, it just made for a lot of mental turmoil, as her body was ready but her mind still on the fence.

"Ready for the next experiment, Ranma?"

"Mmm? Experiment?" Ranma shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "Oh right. Yeah, go ahead." Harry stepped close and cast a revealing charm on her to detect any magical traces. With Hermione watching through the omnioculars, she was hit with repeated blasts of hot and cold water.

----

"Harry?"

"Hmm?" He looked up from his bench. Ranma was leaning on the lab counter, giving him a soft smile.

"Can I come with you to see the giants tonight?"

"I guess. You don't want to stay here with Hermione?" he asked.

"And get splashed left, right, and center? No thanks."

Harry shrugged. "Why not? Maybe you can help me look for the stone, as well."

Ranma smiled. "So, it's a date, then?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah, it's a date. Just don't expect flowers or chocolates."

Ranma wrinkled her nose. "Don't want them, anyway. Come get me when you're ready. I'll be in my room." She flashed him another smile before heading out. "See you in a bit."

Harry watched her leave. He was unable to concentrate on his notes at all afterwards, however. With a smile and a sigh, he closed his lab book and decided to call it a day. Ranma might not want flowers and chocolates, but he'd keep looking for the Stone - then he could give her something she'd appreciate.

------

Wow... Um.. where did this one come from? I'm sorry, this is not the way I imagined this going, but it flowed well, so I kept writing. The whole bit with Harry's daughter was completely not planned, but oh well. I like it, and so I'm happy. I still have my end in mind, and I think I can get there in one or two more chapters.

I don't know how long it will be until I can post the next chapter, but right now the words are flowing, so it might only be a day or two. I'm sure this chapter could use a little editing and filling out, but, at the same time, I just want to get it out there.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

------

Ranma squatted on the floor and rummaged around in her backpack, pulling out a pair of leather-lined metal bracers from the bottom of the bag. They were badly scuffed and the leather laces were cracking, but they were her favorite pair. She rolled up her sleeves. With quick finger work, she loosened the lacing and slipped on the bracers, giving the strap a firm pull to tighten them on her forearms and tied a simple square knot, tucking it under the leather to keep it in place. Satisfied, she rolled the sleeves of her shirt back down to cover them.

Ranma turned her head at the sound of a knock at the door. "Come in!"

The door opened enough to allow Harry's head to poke in. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ranma stood and stepped away from her bag, closing the door behind her as she stepped into the hall. Harry was carrying a large backpack and a silvery, shimmery cloak over his left arm. He noticed Ranma's puzzled glance at the cloak.

"Invisibility cloak. This is what I was wearing when we first met."

Ranma cocked her head for a second before remembering. She mouthed a silent 'oh' and nodded. "Cool!" Together they walked down the hall where Cheli was lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels on the television listlessly, clearly bored out her mind.

Before leaving, Harry turned to his daughter. "Cheli?"

"What?" She didn't bother to look at them.

"We're going out. Don't know when we'll be back, but don't stay up too late, okay?"

"Sure, whatever." She didn't bother to look at them. She gave them a half-hearted wave with the remote and continued to channel surf. "Have good date."

Harry waved and stepped outside. Ranma's reflex was to immediately scream denials. But it was a date, wasn't it? Sure, there might not be flowers and a fancy dinner involved, but all the same… She grinned at the irony, as this would be first date she could ever remember going on willingly. With a guy, no less. Part of her wanted to shiver, but a part of her was intrigued as well. "We will." She closed the door behind her and caught up to Harry.

------

Harry slung the invisibility cloak over his shoulders and tied the clasp closed. His disembodied head floated over the entrance mat to the front door. Ranma blinked a few times when she saw it but said nothing. "Ready?" Harry asked. Ranma nodded. "Good. Remember, when we get there, I don't want to be seen, so I'm going to disappear, okay?"

"Got it. Does it matter if I get seen?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not really. But it wouldn't hurt to be careful and avoid drawing attention to yourself."

Ranma snorted. "That's so weird."

"What is?"

"The floating head thing." Ranma laughed. "I feel like I'm going out on another date with a ghost."

"Another date? You've dated a ghost before?"

"A couple, actually." Harry watched as Ranma eyes seemed to look off into the distance, a small smile gracing her face. "It was a long time ago, though. Haven't dated one in years, I swear."

"Oh." Harry shrugged, but then remembered that Ranma couldn't see it anyway. "I'd love it if you could tell me about it later. Sounds interesting."

"It was. One of them was a because of a …cat" a small shudder went through her body "ghost." Ranma chuckled softly. "That was officially the worst date of my life. Even at your worst, you couldn't top that." If had had been anyone else but Ranma, he would have thought he was being made fun of. She was the only person he had ever met that had more weird stuff happen to them than himself. It kind of made him feel strangely normal, in a good way.

"I'm not even going to try. Ready to go?"

Ranma nodded.

"Good. Grab my arm."

"Where is it, exactly?"

Harry put one arm through the cloak so she could see it. Once she had hold of it, he turned and popped out of existence, dragging Ranma along with him and into Hogsmead. He quickly put up his hood and dropped his arm, disappearing completely. Ranma stepped back into the shadows as well. She was mumbling to herself about learning to teleport.

"Harry?" She whispered. Her hands were extended out in front of her, her eyes partially closed as she concentrated.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna test something real quick. Can you move somewhere stand still?"

"Why's that?"

"I going to try and see if I'll be able to follow you with that cloak on."

"Alright." Harry moved down the alley in the opposite direction he needed to go, taking care not to make any sounds, stopping by a trashcan as he waited. Ranma closed her eyes for a second and concentrated. When she opened them, she turned to look at the spot he was standing.

She cocked her head and pointed. "Um… I think you're right by that trashcan."

"I am." He pulled the hood back just enough to allow his face to be visible. "How'd you do that? I've been trying to figure it out how Dumbledore did that for a long time."

Ranma chewed her lip for a bit. "It's weird. I can't feel your ki or magic while you're under there, but I feel like there's something… missing. It's kind of annoying – almost like something is tickling your nose to make sneeze, but can't. Or…" Ranma trailed off. "It's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, but when you try to focus on it, it's not there." She shrugged.

"Hmm…" Harry pulled the hood back down. "Well, now that you know what to look for, you ready to go see some giants?"

"You betcha. Lead the way!"

The moon was at only a quarter full, barely generating enough light for them to navigate by. Once they got to the forest, things would be a little more difficult. Ranma followed him closely as they left the village, taking the alleys between houses and back streets avoid late night wanderers. Soon enough they were outside the village, heading down towards the lake and Hogwarts.

Ranma whistled softly when she first saw Hogwarts rising majestically above the water. "You went to school here?"

"Yeah. It was the first time I ever felt like I belonged anywhere."

"It's beautiful." Ranma didn't move as she took in the vista of the castle lights twinkling in the distance, reflecting off the black waters of the lake.

Harry sighed wistfully. "It is, isn't it?" They stood there for a bit, just taking in the scenery. "So, how exactly did you end up in a date with a cat ghost? I thought you hated those things."

Ranma grinned. "I do. This one time, back when Xian Pu was still trying to get me to marry her, she gave me this giant bell as part of a matched pair. I was supposed to keep the large one, and she would wear a smaller one to signify our 'love.' I didn't want it of course, and it pissed Akane off to no end, which is probably why she did it."

Harry watched as Ranma smiled wistfully, reflecting back. It revealed a side that he didn't often see. Ranma lived almost exclusively in the present. She rarely allowed memories to get in her way. Harry understood the impulse. When you had nothing but terrible memories, it was easier not to dwell on them, easier to live in the now, rather than the then and the what if.

Ranma continued. "Anyway, to make a long story short, the bell was cursed, of course. This giant ghost cat named Maomolin lived inside the larger bell, and he tried to fight me." Ranma snorted. "He was an absolute wimp. But he lured Xian Pu inside the area's cat temple and cursed on her. In revenge, he made it so that if Shampoo tried to leave the temple grounds, she would turn into a cat until she reentered them."

"I ended up having to take Xian Pu out on a date in her cat form, and man, that was misery. To make it worse, Akane was pissed at me for the date, Mu Tsu was pissed at me for dating Xian Pu. The problem was that Maomolin said that only a kiss from her true love would break the curse. It had to be done before the last bell of the New Year or she'd get stuck like that. Mu Tsu thought he had to kiss her, Xian Pu wanted me to kiss her, and Akane just kept getting more and more pissed. I couldn't leave her trapped in her cat form, but I couldn't even stand getting near her to even attempt it."

"That must have been difficult." Harry didn't keep the humor out of his voice.

Ranma looked at him with a hooded gaze. "No shit. Anyway, it worked out in the end. I was so terrified of Xian Pu's cat form that I ran into the shrine bell and knocked my self for a loop. Xian Pu kissed me while I was out of it, breaking the curse. Akane took out her anger on me for a while afterwards. I had to eat her cooking for nearly two weeks straight before she started to calm down."

"Didn't you say her cooking was… bad?"

Ranma nodded fervently. "Toxic. I don't know how she did it, but every time she cooked something that wasn't curry she created either a radioactive hazard or some creature bent on my destruction." She showed him a small scar on the back of his left hand. "I got this one from a dinner one night when her attempt at a fried noodle dish called 'yaki soba' bit me."

"Bit you?" Harry shook his head. "How is that possible?"

"In retrospect, it was probably some weird combination of magic and ki." Ranma shrugged. "But what ever it was, that stuff was lethal, even for me. If it didn't attack me, I was forced to eat it. If it did attack me, I had to put it down before it could hurt anything else, but of course she thought I just didn't want to eat her cooking, even after she witnessed it attack me."

"I bet the Department of Magical Mysteries would have loved to get a sample of her… cooking." Harry mused.

Ranma chuckled. "I'm sure. Akane got a letter from the U.S. Army once. They wanted to recruit her for a joint 'research position' studying 'parasitic pathogens.' She was pissed. Her sister decided to frame the letter and put in the kitchen."

"What about your first date, Harry?" Ranma didn't turn as she asked, preferring to look out over the castle grounds.

Harry paused. "Oh… hmm…" He rubbed his chin, thinking back. He grinned as he remembered. "It was over Valentine's Day. I can't remember too clearly, because I've been trying to block it from my mind. I remember we went to Madam Puddifoot's teashop with this girl I had a crush on. The date went miserably – I knew nothing about girls, she was conflicted because she getting over the death of a classmate Voldemort had just killed. She liked me, but also felt guilty because she had liked the other guy, too. So, she was an emotional wreck, there were these cupids throwing confetti everywhere, we didn't really know what to say to each other…" He trailed off with a grin. "It was horribly awkward, let me assure you."

Ranma made a face. "Eww. Sounds bad."

"Not as bad as dating your worst fear, though." He turned away from the castle and prepared to head towards the groundskeeper's hunt. "We should go."

Ranma's question stopped him short, however. "Does this place," she gestured around her, "it make you miss her?"

He looked back at Ranma, who was still gazing rapturously at the view. He walked back up the hill a bit till he was standing next to her, looking at the same sights. Hogwarts was beautiful. At one point, he couldn't stand the sight of it any more. But now…

"It used to. I used to hate it here. There was just so much death and pain here. But at some point, though… This place was never to blame, really. And it allowed me to meet her." He grew silent. "It is still a special place for me." They stood gazing over the castle for a few more moments until he reached out and gently tugged on her sleeve, pulling her down the hill. "Come on." The trance was broken. Ranma looked back one more time before they headed into the forest.

They walked towards Hagrid's hut. "That's the ground's keeper. He's half-giant. Nice bloke, but can't keep a secret for the life of him. He has a half-brother who's a full giant, but he lives in the forest and comes to visit pretty frequently."

The pair entered the Forbidden Forest soon afterwards. It was dark underneath the canopy as the moon didn't have enough power to penetrate the trees tonight. "Do you need light?" Ranma only shook her head. "Alright, then. I'll tell you about this place as we walk, but we need to be quiet." He moved slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light and treacherous footing, but also because he took care to avoid making unnecessary sound. Ranma had no problem following behind, and was using the slow pace as an opportunity to look around the area.

As they walked, Harry explained what sort of creatures lived in the forest. As he was explaining, Ranma stiffened and stood up straighter.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Shhh…" Ranma held a finger to her lips and crouched low. Soon enough, Harry heard it too – it sounded like something large pushing through the undergrowth, punctuated by sharp squeals and a spine tingling scraping sound.

Harry pulled out his wand and leaned back against a tree as the sounds came closer to them. A few tense moments passed until Harry was startled by Ranma's voice.

"Is that… a car?"

Harry blinked and peered around the tree. Sure enough, Arthur Weasley's old Ford Anglia was pushing through the trees, reminding him strongly of a wild boar as it used it's radiator to sniff at the roots the trees it passed while wandering through the forest. The screeching sounds were produced as the car muscled its way through tight spaces, scraping the doors and fenders against the hard bark of the old growth trees. The car eventually wandered away again, leaving them unmolested.

Ranma was clearly puzzled, as she stood up from her crouch and just scratched the side of her head. "How did that get here?"

"Well, you see…" Harry began, explaining about the car. He was honestly surprised it had managed to survive in this forest as long as it had. It seemed quite beat up and rusted, but still going strong. Of course, telling Ranma about why he needed to take the car in the first place meant explaining all about his second year at Hogwarts and Riddle's diary. They walked side by side, Harry invisible, Ranma scanning the forest. Surprisingly, Harry found himself laughing as he told the story to Ranma, who was amused and appreciative in turn.

"So you had a real basilisk stick it's fang through your arm?"

"Yeah. It was big, green, scaly, and mean. I don't have the scar, though, as Fawkes healed all the damage."

"Fawkes is the phoenix, right? What happened to it? I've always wanted to see one."

"Well, I don't know. After Dumbledore's death, it hasn't really been seen around anywhere. Some people claim that you can hear it singing on certain nights near his tomb, but I can't verify that." Harry paused. "We're getting close. We should probably be more careful from here on out."

Ranma nodded and fell silent, dropping back a bit to follow Harry.

Soon they reached the clearing where the giants slept. The bonfire was blazing, throwing plenty of illumination around the area. There weren't asleep, either, as six giants were standing around the fire, yelling at each other in some incomprehensible language. Harry crouched down and crawled over to a tree so he could get a better view of what was happening in the clearing. He didn't remove his cloak. He reached up and tugged on Ranma's sleeve. She crouched next to him, eyes flitting back and forth between the giants in the clearing as the low rumbling sounds of the creatures' conversations continued.

There were six in all, ranging in height from twenty to twenty five feet, with hands nearly as big as Ranma was tall. They stood in a circle around the bonfire, murmuring to each other in a language that sounded much like boulders knocking together, punctuated with grunts, snorts, and gnashing of teeth.

He heard Ranma exclaim, "Cool!" in a breathy whisper as she sidled up next to him.

"You like?" Harry whispered.

"Very much so. These things look like they could be lots of fun to play with." Ranma nodded.

Ranma missed the incredulous stare he was giving her, simply because he was still invisible.

"Fun to play with? Are you crazy?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "How long have you known me, Harry?"

Harry thought back and sighed. "Right. Just promise me you won't go play with them just yet, okay?"

"Fine." Ranma huffed.

"And remind me to introduce you to Hagrid if he's still up when we leave here."

"That half-giant?"

Harry nodded, then remembered Ranma couldn't see his body language. "That's him. I'm sure the two of you would get along famously."

"Why's that?"

"Because both of you have an unhealthy fascination with creatures that can cause serious bodily harm. He's the guy that made the Blast-end Skwerts and kept a giant three-headed dog named 'Fluffy' as a pet."

"Fluffy?"

"Yes." Harry shuddered. "I'm still traumatized by that experience."

Ranma nodded. "He sounds pretty cool."

"I'm not surprised to hear that, but I'm not re-assured in the least."

They crouched for a bit and watched as the giants continued to argue over something. From this distance, it was difficult to make out, but as Harry explained, giants argued just for the sake of it.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Ranma asked.

"We should be going home." Harry replied.

"Why?" Ranma seemed startled.

"Easy. If they're awake, we're not really going to be able to do any searching tonight. It's too dangerous." He cut Ranma off before she could say anything. "No, I mean it. These things are incredibly magic resistant. It would take twenty of me to put down one of them, and there are six, and they look angry."

"But, can't you just port out of here if you get in trouble?"

Harry shook his head. "No. There are spells over the area that prevents it. Why do you think we had to walk from town?"

"Damn." Ranma let her breath out in a huff. "How strong do you think one of these giant thingies is?" As if to answer her question, one of the smaller giants ripped up a pine tree at the far edge of the clearing, and ran back to the fire, brandishing it like a club.

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Strong enough."

Ranma scrunched her eyebrows, deep in thought. "Do you know where this stone you're looking for is?"

"Why?"

"Well, do you or don't you?"

He shrugged. "I have an idea. I've done a lot of searching around the perimeter, and I've been able to narrow it down to a likely location." He pointed at the bonfire. "I'm pretty sure it is located right where they built the fire. There's no way we can search there while they're awake."

"What if I distract them for you? How long would it take you to find it?"

"Forget it. I don't want to risk it." Harry stood up. "Let's just go. We can come back later."

"Aww, come on, Harry."

"No! Are you crazy or something?"

Ranma sighed and stood up as well, facing the still invisible Harry. "Look, Harry. You can call me crazy, but you said you'd show me giants, and I want to see them. Face to face. I'd really like to go in there tonight. "

Harry just stared at her for a bit. "You really _are _crazy! Those things will kill you," he seethed.

Ranma shook her head. "No, they won't." She looked back at the clearing.

"How can you know that?"

Ranma didn't move, but suddenly she seemed much more… serious. Deadly. "I know what I'm capable of."

Harry just shook his head. He forgot that Ranma couldn't see it. Apparently, it didn't matter, though.

"I don't often get the chance to face something like this. You think I'm going to pass it up?"

"Why would you want to face them?"

Ranma shrugged. "You know I'm not normal."

"Yeah, I think you're a bit touched."

"Smart ass."

"I know your strong, Ranma, but these things are live only to fight." He gathered his energy to convince her that this was stupid, but was cut off by her soft voice.

"What do you think I live for, Harry?"

"Excuse me?"

Ranma didn't face him, but she didn't need to. Her voice reached him even though her words were delivered in the same soft tone as before. "Harry, my whole life has been a battle. This is what I am. I live for this. I've reached a point in my art where the only way I can get stronger is to face things stronger than I am. So far, I've only met two beings as strong than I am. Saffron and Herb. Saffron has unlimited power but little skill, so there isn't much I can learn from him. Herb had both massive power and a great deal of skill, but if we seriously sparred we'd risk doing serious damage to his kingdom. Neither of us wants that."

She nodded in the direction of the giants. "These things, though… The look strong enough that I can really let go a bit. It's the first time in years when I might not have to hold back so much. Of course I'm going to get excited."

Harry sighed. "I just… I know you're strong, Ranma, but these things…"

"Don't let my appearance fool you, Harry."

"…" Harry didn't say anything. Ranma just continued to watch the giants squabble near the fire.

"I would rather you… allow me to go in there than be pissed because I went in anyway." Ranma still hadn't faced him. "Please?"

He crumbled. With a sigh, Harry leaned against the tree. "Fine. Do what ever you want. Don't expect me to come in there after you, though."

Ranma turned in his general direction, giving him a beaming smile. "Thanks. I'd rather you stay here, anyway. You aren't ready for this yet, and it could get a bit rough."

"I'll never be ready for it, Ranma."

"Never say never, Harry." Ranma smirked.

Harry snorted and took out his wand. "Don't get killed."

"I won't!" With that, the red-head strolled out into the clearing.

-----

She was nearly to the fire before they noticed her. Up close, the fire was actually gigantic, about the size of a large car. The air around it was sweltering, the ground around it almost uncomfortably warm. Good. They were dumb. That confirmed her suspicions that they were all brute strength. That was fine by her. The largest giant snarled something unintelligible at her. Ranma just smiled and waved, expanding her senses and slipping into a relaxed posture as she prepared herself.

She could feel the anger in the creatures around her rising. The largest one had the strongest aura, but even still she wasn't too concerned.

"You guys want to play tag?"

The giant in front of her furrowed its eyebrows as she spoke, trying to figure out what she wanted. They'd find out soon enough. Ranma _moved_. Faster than their eyes could follow, she delivered a swift crescent kick to the jaw of the giant nearest her, sending it crashing to the trees at the edge of the clearing before the rest even registered what she had done.

"Your it!" With that, she pulled her hands out of her pockets and dropped into a stance.

Five roars went up around her as the giant on the ground got to its feet quickly. Her foot throbbed slightly – it felt like kicking a mountain when she hit the first one.

Ranma's face lit up in a smile as the giants still standing moved to crush her. This was going to be really fun.

-----

Harry had his wand out as Ranma strolled into the clearing, prepared to pull her out of trouble even though he knew he couldn't. He heard her say something to the creatures but couldn't make it out. His nearly dropped his wand as Ranma vanished and sent a giant sailing several body-lengths away, crashing into the trees behind him. He blinked. Ranma was standing in the exact same spot as before, hands still in her pockets. She said something else and pulled her hands out of her pockets, dropping down into a stance.

Something tickled the back of his mind as he watched her posture. That looked suspiciously like…

------

Ranma was having fun. She was working her way through the beginning ten kata that she had taught Harry, methodically positioning her body to deliver the blows against whichever giant happened to be closest. She allowed them to strike at her when the kata called for a block, utilizing her superior ki control to avoid being smashed into a pulp as a fist slammed into her guard, sending a shock through her body.

Damn, but these things were strong. And they could take punishment, too. Her blows seemed only to make them angrier. She finished up the first kata and moved to the second of the series. After she finished them all, she'd see how these guys responded to some of her more advanced techniques.

This was even better than she had thought.

------

Harry sat down in the dirt, carefully adjusting his invisibility cloak so that he didn't sit on it or get it dirty. He had known that Ranma was strong, but this was just... not possible.

Except that he should have know. How long had he known her? Just about a year had passed since he first met her. How many impossible things had she accomplished? Even Harry, knowing that magic made the impossible merely an inconvenience, had a hard time believing what he was seeing.

And yet... A small smile graced his lips. And yet…

As he watched her work her way through the fourth kata, a realization struck him. When they first met, back when he had thought she was some sort of dark creature, she had been holding back. Even now, she was holding back. Just how strong was she?

He also realized it didn't matter. She was who she was. For a second, he almost regretted teaching her magic. If she ever decided to use it for any purpose other than good, she would be unstoppable.

Harry also knew that it didn't matter, because she was incapable of anything resembling evil. She had suffered through so much, experienced so much, and to remain a good person…

Like him. As much as he hated what had happened to him in his life, he had given too much of himself to others for too long to consider himself first. Maybe that was part of the attraction – finding a kindred soul who knew suffering, knew pain, and yet remained strong.

Harry had closed himself off from the world for too long. As he watched Ranma flip a giant over her shoulder, he decided that he had enough isolation. He was going to make more of an effort to be the person his friends remembered, not the person he had allowed himself to become with the death of his wife. He'd do the same thing for Ranma, whether she wanted him too or not.

------

Ranma finished the tenth kata of the series, feeling decidedly tired. These things hit _hard_. They also could take way more damage than any of her previous sparing partners, as some of the shots she had been dishing out would have put even Ryoga down. After an hour of kicking the giants around and blocking their attempts to hit her back, she decided that it was time to start experimenting.

Hurting them only made them even angrier. The hot ki in the clearing was almost becoming oppressive as their anger grew in proportion with their frustration and pain.

Deciding that she had enough of sitting in one place being a target, Ranma began to weave through the giants, taking openings where she could get them – a quick shot to the back of the leg, a take down, or a punch to where the roughly the kidneys should be. Now that she was mobile and not standing in place, the giants couldn't touch her.

She felt guilty for causing the giants pain, because she hadn't really given them the option of fighting or not. She had started it, mostly for her own pleasure. She'd make it up to them, somehow. When this was over, she'd ask Harry a good way to apologize.

Right now, though, she it was time to try some magic. Dodging a sloppy (but strong!) punch from behind, she whipped out her wand and fired a simple stunning spell as the giant that was still recovering from over-extending during the punch. She watched critically as the spell just bounced off its skin. Upping the power on the spell, she cast a second stunner and watched as rather than bounce, it splashed harmlessly against the giant's skin, dissipating.

The smaller giant was still swinging the pine tree around, trying to squash her like an annoying fly. She banished the tree back into the giant's face, noting that the tree smashing into its face was more effective than a stunner. The tactical part of her brain took over, analyzing the effects of the spell.

Unfortunately, she really didn't know all that many spells that she could use for offensive purposes. Stunners, sure. A few minor hexes that quickly proved couldn't get through the giants' thick skins, either. Limited in her options, she began to think more generally. Deciding that her current level of ability with magic wouldn't be very useful, she wanted to try some ki blasts.

She fired of a small bullet of pure ki, taking one of the larger giants in the chest. Rather than splash harmlessly like her spells, it impacted the creature with enough force to knock it head over heels. She smirked in satisfaction as she noticed the giant struggling to its feet later, trying to catch its breath after having been winded by the unexpected attack.

She dodged an attempt to stomp her into the ground and delivered a swift kick to the back of the ankle, causing the giant to fall. The creature hopped back up, barely noticing the swelling in its ankle. Physical attacks augmented with ki were barely effective, magic was pretty useless, but a straight ki blast could hurt them. They were slow and stupid, not having learned anything in the last hour at all. They kept trying just to smash her, as opposed to anything new.

For curiosity's sake, she summoned up a blade comprised entirely of ki and jabbed it into an arm of yet another missed punch. She pulled her hand back, noticing no blood from the small wound she had inflicted, even though the blade had been nearly seven inches long. Worse, the giant didn't even react like he had felt it.

Taking stock, she kept a running check list in her head. Thick skin? Check. Incredible pain tolerance? Check. Highly resistant to physical and magical damage? Check, and check. But dumb, dumb, dumb. They relied on brute strength, having no real skill or superhuman coordination or reflexes. Harry could probably dodge most of what these guys were throwing at her.

For magic to penetrate through their skins, it would have to be an incredibly powerful piercing spell. She didn't know any at all, though. Ranma figured it was time to wrap this up, though, as she was no longer able to derive any benefit from just dodging, and she'd have plenty of bruising from the poundings she had received from just blocking.

Plus, she didn't want to use up all her ki just throwing ki blasts. That was boring. Even if she did, she wasn't sure she could put them down without really hurting them. These things had the constitution of a mountain. Likewise, you couldn't hope to crumble one without serious firepower. She didn't want to kill them, she just wanted to put them out of action for a bit.

Working her way away from the bon fire, she fell into the familiar spiral step pattern necessary to pull off one of her strongest maneuvers, the Hiryū Shōten Ha. Obligingly, the giants followed, bellowing in anger as Ranma cooled her ki, slipping fully into the soul of Ice. Ranma took the spiral wide, content to take her time as the level of anger peaked in the clearing, using the heat source of the bonfire as the center of her spiral.

Time to experiment some more. As she flooded her body with cool ki, she reached for her magic, trying to find the center. So a direct magical attack was useless. What would happen if she tried to combine her techniques? She was worried briefly that this would fail, but pushed it out of her mind. When it came to a fight, she never backed down; nothing was impossible. She faced enough superior opponents to know that she just had to do.

She grinned.

She didn't have to even pay attention to the giants, as she was able to avoid them instinctually. Finally, she found it. Faintly at first, but growing with each step, tingles, like little shocks of electricity, began to run up and down her legs as she maintained the spiral pattern, stepping back and around her enemies at a constant pace.

Like the time in the dojo when her magic had pulsed in response to her ki, it was happening now again, starting slowly and building as she came closer to completing her spiral. As she neared the center of the spiral, the pressure became more unbearable. Her ki surged in response to the electric pulses of magic, threatening to shatter her concentration.

Ranma was almost to the fire now, her concentration wavering as the surges of ki and magic coursing through her body threatened to shatter her focus. She did a small loop around the fire before stepping back into the inferno, trusting her ki to protect her from the heat. Raising her right hand to initiate the release of the Hiryū Shōten Ha was a relief.

She pictured it in her mind as she released. Every detail was exact. It glistened, golden with red tipped scales as it opened its mouth and roared to the heavens, hair streaming in the wind as it rose. With a groan, she felt her ki and magic rush through her arm and out. The strength of pulse was completely unexpected. Her bracers on both arms literally exploded under the pressure, shredding her clothes as small pieces of shrapnel flying off in every direction.

Pieces of metal from her raised right arm cut the right side of her face. For a moment, nothing happened. She had enough time to think that it didn't work, when suddenly, there was a sound, like a giant intake of breath. She felt compressed. She screamed. Something roared in answer, but after that everything turned black.

------

Harry watch as Ranma began to dance around the clearing, stepping around the giants' attempts to flatten her with a casual disregard. The creatures were become even more enraged, if that was possible. Harry didn't understand exactly why she was doing it, but watched as she walked around the clearing several times, slowly drawing closer to the fire as she did so, always leading her opponents inward.

He nearly shouted when Ranma stepped backwards into the fire, but then a huge magical pulse flattened him to the ground. Harry had just managed to get to his feet with he was sucked inwards towards the clearing by a rushing torrent of wind. He managed to brace himself against the nearest tree and avoid being dragged further, but the trees themselves were all bucking wildly, bent inwards towards the center of the clearing as the air rushed in.

The pressure from the air reversed and exploded outward. Shielded by the tree, Harry avoided injuries from flying debris, but couldn't avoid being flung backward from the air pressure. He heard Ranma scream, followed by a giant roar, before he hit the ground.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and turned towards the fire. Harry had seen a lot in his life. It took a lot to surprise him. What he saw now didn't just surprise him: he very nearly wet his pants.

The temperature in the clearing had dropped enough for his breath to become visible. A thin layer of frost covered the ground all the way to the edge of the clearing. The bonfire was gone – Ranma stood there, covered in a thin layer of ice. _Glowing _ice. A faint blue light flickered in the clearing, reflecting out of the ice that covered her, twinkling. She wasn't moving, but even from here he could see that she was bleeding from her face and torso.

The ground was ice. The sky, however… A burning tornado spun widely above Ranma's upraised fist. The vortex seemed to be streaming forth from between her clenched fingers, rising up into the sky to part the clouds. Where as the clearing was bathed in the unearthly blue light flicking of Ranma's frost encased body, the tree tops and sky were glowing a brilliant orange as the tornado spun violently, pulling the surrounding air into the funnel, sucking the clouds in the sky towards it as it greedily sucked up the cooler air around.

Harry had seen too many impossible things tonight not to believe what happened next. The tornado _roared_. This wasn't the roaring of the wind, but rather the roar of a living, breathing beast. It was a roar that denoted intelligence. In the sky, the funnel began to draw inwards, starting in the clouds. The surface changed – the red winds shimmered, compressed, _solidified._

No longer was it a tornado. It stopped spinning. Bright gold scales tipped with red flickered, shimmered, solidified. Red hair streamed from the back, and four clawed feet with three fingers and an opposing claw formed, sprouting out of the sides of the… the… thing about nearly thirty meters from the ground and up in the sky near the clouds. The twister bent at its halfway point and a massive head with long, flowing eyebrows, a beard, horns, and a flowing mustache broke through the clouds.

Six giants were clutched in its mouth.

It moved like a serpent – sliding through the air like it was solid. Harry stared up in awe as it looked down at the clearing. With something akin to distaste, it spat the giants out. Harry watched as the fell, only to be knocked off his feet once again as the bodies crashed to the ground around the clearing, causing the earth to shift and the trees to whip back and forth from the impact.

When Harry finally got to his feet again, he looked up only to be faced with an enormous pair of golden eyes. Draconian eyes. They were slit like a cat, deep, huge, each one the size of Harry himself. Unlike the dragons Harry had faced, there was an incredible amount of intelligence apparent in those orbs. He felt like he was being weighed, evaluated.

Apparently the dragon was satisfied, because it turned away from him and did a slow circle around the clearing. It examined each giant briefly as it passed, but something gave Harry the impression that they hardly even registered. It was completely silent, even given its sized. It was easily eighty meters long, as most of its body remained in the sky, tail pointed to the clouds, as it completed its observations. Finally, it looked at Ranma.

-----

Soaring.

Freedom.

A foul taste. Release

Who?

A friend.

Why?

Understanding.

Some things beneath consideration.

Indomitable spirit. Seeking, searching.

Recrudescence.

Sought after?

Given.

Soon, but not yet. Not yet. One day again.

Home.

Ascension.

-----

Harry's breath caught. The dragon examined Ranma critically for a few moments, eyes focused on her petite body still frozen in place. With a gentle breath of air, the frost on her body began to melt. A single, gigantic claw reached forward and touched the knuckles of her extended fist for a brief moment. The limb withdrew, and with that, the dragon turned its eyes heavenward and flew up, parting the clouds in its passage until it too, began to fade.

Harry continued to stare at the sky long after the dragon was gone. A sound from the clearing brought him back to reality as Ranma collapsed on the cold embers of the fire.

"Ranma!" Scrambling to his knees, then his feet, he rushed over to her. She had fallen on her back, eyes still open and right hand extended above her head. She was bleeding from multiple places, but it was especially bad around her forearms. Harry wasn't the best at medical magic, but he did his best, stopping the bleeding on her face and arms as best he could.

He pulled out his wand and hovered protectively over her form as he heard a crashing sound emanating from the north, from the deepest section of the woods. The centaur herds emerged, bows drawn as they carefully entered the clearing.

A second crashing sound came west this time. Grawp. It was followed closely by the sound of a boar hound. Fang came crashing through the undergrowth, followed quickly by Hagrid, his crossbow drawn.

Only now remembering that he was still invisible, Harry pulled of his cloak rapidly and stood, wand out defensively as looked back and forth between Grawp, Hagrid, and the centaurs.

"HAAARRYYY!" Grawp bellowed. Hagrid waved at him, putting his crossbow down and rushing out to the center of the clearing. "Harry!" At Hagrid's movement, the centaurs relaxed their bowstrings. A single centaur stepped forward as well, walking towards the center of the clearing. Hagrid and the centaur looked nervously at the giants scattered around the edge of the clearing, but soon reached him.

Harry let out a breath of relief when he recognized who it was. "Firenze!"

The centaur looked down at Harry and nodded. Without a word, it dropped to two knees and looked closely at Ranma. He reached out his hands and took her right hand in his palms and uncurled the fingers. It picked up a small object in her fist and offered it to Harry.

He gasped and nearly dropped it. It was the Resurrection Stone. Quickly pocketing it, he watched as Firenze scanned Ranma's palm. It gently placed her hand on her chest and surged to his hooves. The centaur turned to go without any further words.

"Firenze!" Harry reached forward but stopped. "What did you see?"

"Pluto and Neptune have rarely aligned with the Sun in such a fashion." He turned back to Harry. "Take care, Harry Potter. I did not think to see this in our life times. Tell her we would be honored if she could visit later."

"I will." Harry nodded. Firenze galloped away, and soon he and the rest of the herd disappeared into the woods.

"Harry!" Hagrid's voice boomed out, startling him from his thoughts. "What in the bloody blazes 'appened 'ere, Harry?" Grawp echoed Hagrid's exclamations, letting a booming "ARRRRRY!!" ring out in the clearing. The giant crouched on the ground, but he still was nearly as tall as his half-brother.

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure, really." He pointed down at Ranma. "She was fighting these giants when she did…" he trailed off. Hagrid poked him as he stood there silently, lost in thought.

"What'd she do?"

"Something unbelievable." Harry whispered. "Come on. Let's go to your hut."

"A' right." Hagrid picked up the unconscious red-head. Grawp picked up Harry and placed him on his shoulder, and together they marched out of the forest.

-------

Ranma groaned and sat up, but immediately regretted doing it. She flopped back down. "Anyone get the number on that truck?"

"Ranma?" That was Harry's voice.

"Yeah."

"How're you feeling?"

She opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar log cabin. There was a fire going somewhere as she could feel the heat and smell the wood smoke. "Like a piece of meat that's been fought over by two hungry lions." She winced as she began to catalog her various injuries. "Damn. How long have I been out? And how'd this happen?"

"Ye've been out for an hour, give 'r take." An unfamiliar and heavily accented voice said. "As fer how it happened, we're dyin' to know, too."

Turning her neck to face the new speaker and wincing as some scabs on the right side of her face cracked, she saw a giant of a man with an unruly, thick black beard that hung nearly to his waist and an equally messy matching hair style.

"You must be Hagrid."

The man beamed. "Yeap!" He stood up and reached a hand forward to shake.

Ranma grinned at him sheepishly. "Mind if we shake another time? My hands are killing me right now."

"Oh sure, no problem!" Hagrid sat back down with a heavy thump, causing the cabin to vibrate slightly.

She sat up this time, ignoring the pain. Carefully, she swung her legs around until they were hanging off the edge of the bed and leaned back against the wall.

Harry was sitting in another chair close to the bed. It looked strange because the chair dwarfed his body, but she realized it was the same size as the one Hagrid sat on. He was so big he made it look tiny in comparison.

Her head swam a little bit. She frowned. Not a concussion, just really tired, then. "What happened, Harry?"

"Well…" And so he began to describe it. Ranma stared at him in disbelief as he explained what happened. She was relieved to see that Hagrid was also staring at Harry too. Harry obliquely mentioned that he was able to find what they were looking for. He cut his eyes to Hagrid and then back to Ranma. She puzzled over his gestures for a bit until she remembered what Harry had told her about the grounds keeper.

"Really?" Ranma cracked her neck, slowly. "So you say it looked like a big golden serpent with four legs?"

Harry nodded. "What was that you did?"

"It's called the Hiryū Shōten Ha. It literally means 'Flying Dragon Ascension Strike,' but I've never had that happen before. It's usually just a tornado."

"Just a tornado?"

She shrugged. "What?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What did you did you do differently, then?"

Ranma frowned, trying to remember. It was fuzzy after entering the spiral. With a frustrated sigh she gave up. "I can't remember. It's kind of fuzzy. I just remember that after letting go, there was this immense sense of…" She shrugged. "Freedom? No, that's not it, either. Just..." she trailed off and finally gave up. "I don't know."

"Well, never mind, then. I'm glad you're okay."

Ranma nodded. Hargrid jumped in, asking all sorts of questions about the fight itself. Ranma was happy to answer them, and the two ended up chatting about all manners of dangerous beasts for nearly an hour before she cracked open more scabs with a huge yawn.

"Ow." She grimaced.

Harry slid out of the chair. "Sorry, Hagrid, but I think I should take her to the infirmary."

"Oh, right!" Hagrid stood up. "I'll carry ye', if ye' like."

Ranma slid off the bed as well. Painful, but not too bad. "No, I'll be okay, I think. Thank you though." She followed Harry to the door. "Oh, Hagrid?"

"Yea?" He stood as well.

"Can your brother talk to those giants?"

"Oh, sure he can. They don't like him much, though. He's such a little runt they always pick on 'im." It was clear that Hagrid didn't approve.

"Well, could you ask him to go down there and apologize for me? I didn't want to hurt them." She hesitated. "Actually, if he could, I'd like to ask them if we could fight again sometime." She grinned. "It was fun."

Hagrid beamed at her. "Sure! I'll ask him to go as soon as they wake up. That way, they'll be too tired to pick on him much."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing! Bye!" He laid a heavy hand on her shoulder, causing her knees to buckle.

"Hagrid!"

"Oops. Sorry 'arry."

-------

The infirmary hadn't changed much. Headmistress McGonagall was surprised by the hour and state of Harry's friend, but was more than willing to allow usage. Having Hagrid come with them made it easier, of course. Harry simply told the Headmistress that he was working in the Forest and they got ambushed by some giants.

Madam Pomfrey 'tsked' when she saw Ranma, but otherwise was completely professional. Due to the extensive bruising and minor cuts, she wanted to keep Ranma overnight for observation, in case there were any internal injuries or complications. After cleaning her off dousing her with a potion to help the minor cuts heal faster, Madam Pomfrey retreated back to her room to return to sleep.

"You were right." Ranma mentioned, sleepily.

"About what?"

"'Bout Hagrid. He's cool."

"It scares me that you think that."

Ranma chuckled. "I bet Norbertta was lots of fun."

This time it was Harry who chuckled. "Yeah. It was, actually."

"Sorry Harry."

"About what?"

Ranma laughed softly. "I think I've probably got another curse on me."

"Oh?" He arched an eyebrow.

She yawned. Between the fight and the potion, Ranma was fighting off exhaustion but clearly losing. "Yeah. I think that anytime I go on a date, I end up in the hospital."

They both shared a laugh at that. "So, was this a good date or a bad one?" he asked.

She smiled sleepily. "Fantastic." She found his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Night." She didn't know why she did it. Maybe it was that Ku Lon's pressure points had weakened her defenses, or maybe it was the potion. Maybe it was the last fading bit of adrenaline as she calmed down from the battle. But what ever the reason, he suddenly looked so… For what ever reason, she reached up and put one hand on the back of his neck, and gently pulled his head down for a kiss.

It lasted only a few brief moments before she smiled around his lips and let him go. "Thanks for tonight. Sleep well, Harry. See you in the morning."

He had to clear his throat before he could speak. "You're welcome. Good night, Ranma." He stood. She rolled over and was asleep almost instantly. Hesitantly, he reached over and pulled the covers up to her shoulders, tucking her in. With a finger, he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind an ear. He stood watching her for a bit before he turned to leave.

----

Cheli was still up when he got home.

"I thought I told you to go to bed early."

"Sorry." She apologized, but she didn't look contrite in the least. Her eyes brows furrowed in confusion. "Where's Ranma?"

"Oh, she's in the infirmary at Hogwart's right now. I've got to go pick her up in the morning."

Cheli squawked. "What happened?"

Harry waved her off. "I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm really tired right now."

"Promise?" Cheli asked.

"Promise."

"So, was it a really horrible date? I mean, she wound up in the hospital!"

He ruffled her hair. "Actually, it was fantastic. I had a great time." He pulled his daughter in for a hug. "She's a pretty fascinating person," he also thought she was a pretty good kisser, too. He released the hug and kissed her on the forehead. "Night, sweetheart. Go to bed soon, okay?"

"Okay." Cheli watched her dad walk down the hall to his room. "If he considers it a good date that Ranma's in the hospital, what would he consider a bad date to be?" She wondered aloud.

----

Harry stumbled to his room. He hung up the cloak in his closet and took the Stone out of his pocket. After all this effort... He hefted it briefly in his hand and frowned. He put it in the jewelry box on his night stand, unused, and got ready for bed.

------

Sorry for the double posting. I updated a few errors and added some additional commentary. Probably one more chapter and then a wrap up (I think!) However, that will leave me with thirteen chapters total, so I'll HAVE to do an omake or an alternative ending to make sure I end on an auspicous number. :)

I know how I'm going to end this - I would love to see guesses from the readers. If anyone nails how I'm going to end it, I'll take personal requests from that reviewer for future story ideas.

I also wanted to share this response to a review I received. Usually, I reply to interesting or thought provoking reviews in person, but since this was an anonymous review, I'll have to do it publicly. Be warned – cattiness following. Rar!

"Yeah, I think I'm going to bail on this story. It started out great,but the last couple of chapters took a turn that does nothing for me."

Sorry I can't please everyone. If this isn't your cup of tea, I understand. Question everything, fear nothing.

"…this is becoming a yaoi fic. Just because you are taking it very slowly does not change this fact. Your premise that just because Ranma is trapped as a girl 'full time' he should start thinking of himself as a girl not only goes against his character, but goes against everything he has said and done throughout this entire fic…"

I had a big rant in here, but I decided it wasn't worth replying. The gist - how can it be a Yaoi fic if Ranma's female? I'm sorry this doesn't suit your tastes, but I have a very definite idea of where this is going. Maybe you should read it and find out.

"Two, Cologne is guilty of essentially raping Ranma here. There is no difference between her pressure points on Ranma, and some guy in a bar slipping a girl some roofies or some other date-rape drug. Artificially changing a person so they will be more open, or even helpless, to sexual advances? Yeah, she should be punished harshly. Considering the Amazons are poster-children for womens' rights, her own village should be horrified at her actions. This isn't funny, it is a serious crime." 

This seems to be the real crux of the matter. This was actually a really thought provoking statement. I agree with the writer; what Ku Lon has done is abhorrent. However, if no one was ever guilty of manipulating loved ones for their benefit, the world would be a very different place. Is it date rape? No. Is it manipulation (and an awful one at that?" Oh yes. I disagree that she would be punished for it. If anything, she would be praised given the Amazon's desire to control their (and other's) destiny. Ku Lon has shown on numerous occasions in the manga and anime that she is willing and perfectly happy manipulating people and forcing them into positions were they must either acquiesce to her desires or be destroyed.

Phoenix pill? Training Ryoga? In practically every instance where she's involved with Xian Pu's relationship with Ranma, she's shown that she's willing to do whatever is necessary to win. I disagree that the Amazon's are poster-children for women's rights. She is a misandrist, as are all of the Amazons. The "elders" of their society perpetuate this attitude. She has also shown that she isn't above taking advantage of anyone to gain what she wants. She's perfectly willing to allow Xian Pu to go on saying "obstacles is for killing!" when she knows that if Xian Pu acts on this threat the police would be mobilized.

Any society that would gladly subjugate half of the population can't claim to be for value rights – they are simply protecting their privileges. Rights imply equality – rather than argue that they are "poster-children" for women's rights, I would argue that they are the worst example of societal excess where the ends justify the means. The Amazon society is not a pretty place at all. Ranma respects her not for what she embodies, but rather for her skill.

We see examples of this all over the world today. No society has really reached true equality between the sexes, although some of the Nordic countries have come close. Subjugation is subjugation, no matter what guise it takes, be it religious, societal, or personal. We have a long time to go before we manage to eradicate hatred and intolerance in our world. As human beings, I'm not sure we ever will, but one can hope.

"Three, in the beginning Ranma abilities and Harry's magic seemed to be on the same level, but over the last two chapters you have made Ranma's chi/ki abilties little more than a way to keep healthy. Last chapter was a perfect example of this when Ranma got so depressed that after everything that he has gone through in his life, Magic can defeat him easily. Who cares if you can kill something with a kick, when you can just wave a wand and get the same result? Right now, the one time it would seem that Ranma's abilities would be impressive is if you are hunting some magic-resistant creature. Perhaps I'm getting the wrong impression here, but there are definite differences between how magic and chi are displayed in the first few chapters, and in the last two."

You are getting the wrong impression. Never has Ranma assumed that magic can defeat him easily. I don't know where you got the above from, but magic and ki have never been on the same level. I'm going to address some concerns that Ranma might be "over-powered" or "god-like." Well, no shit. Ranma could wipe the floor with Harry whenever she desired. Strickly going by canon of the two series, there are two very important differences between the two. In the Harry Potter Universe, every single witch or wizard (with a few notable exceptions like Hagrid) is a human. They move at human speeds, they are injured from normal human activities, they die from normal human injuries.

Ranma and the rest of the crew are no where near human in terms of their physical abilities. Ranma has consistently demonstarted super-human abilities. To name a few - moving at super-sonic speeds, including throwing hundreds of punches in under a second and being able to move faster than the eye can track. She has aslo demonstated the ability to lift objects in exess of 60 tons, like when she shoved a boulder with her bare hands with zero leverage into the Orochi's mouth. In addition to her physical strenght, she has demonstrated an amazing amount of distructive capability - shattering boulders, an ice rinks, and the like with a single punch.

There isn't a single character in the Harry Potter universe that can match this ability. But you say, "But wait! There's magic!" Magic, as demonstrated in the Harry Potter universe, is a weak force. In some stories, magic can cause continents to break apart, or blow up planets, slay dragons. In this universe, it takes twenty trained men giving dragon's pink-eye to control it. Sure, you can stun and kill with a single spell, and block most spells with a sheild. But everything moves at a human pace - even the fastest spell in that universe still travels at speeds that are easily tracked by the human eye.

The simplest argument: You can't kill what you can't hit. No character in the Harry Potter universe has even come close to being able to match even the weakest characters in Ranma's. Sure, you can put up a shield, but would you even know to do it if you never even had time to register the killing blow that was coming your way? Given all the tools in Ranma's aresenal, from ki blasts, vacuum blades, and stealth skills, it wouldn't even be a contest.

So for Ranma, magic simply is a complimentary/supplementary ability to her already formidable arsenal. If she could incapacitate someone from 50 yards with a simple stunning spell that takes little to no energy to cast, why wouldn't she take advantage of it? As a perfectionist, Ranma would seek (and does) to understand every nuance of magic so that she could utilize those skills that would make her a better martial artist.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, this one's dedicated to my love. Thank you for everything - even if you don't know what it is you're doing.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

-------

_Soaring. _

Ranma awoke from her dream as the sun started to break over the horizon. She was left with a muddled impression of images, flashes of color and sensations, nothing clear except the strong feeling of the air caressing her skin as she moved, and a profound sense of liberation. There were other sensations as well, feelings, hints of recognition of... She gave up with a sigh. What ever the dream had been about, it was pleasant, for all that she could understand. She sat up and looked around the infirmary, taking in the stone walls and comfortable beds.

"Awake, deary?"

Ranma half-turned as the nurse came in. Madam Pomfrey pulled up a stool next to the bed and sat down, giving Ranma a quick check up, peering into her eyes, taking her pulse, and briefly glancing at her remaining injuries. Satisfied, she said, "Well, you've certainly got a healthy constitution. You'll be right as rain soon enough. I'll contact Harry and let me know he can pick you up at any time."

Ranma nodded. "Thank you." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Not too much pain. A little sore. Much better than she had anticipated given how hard those giants hit. "Would it be alright if I go visit Hagrid?"

Pomfrey smiled. "Of course. I'll show you the way. It's easy to get lost in here." Ranma followed quietly, taking in the scenery as she was led to the front doors. The castle was made of the same stone throughout, with windows lining the corridors and stairwells. Paintings and suits of armor adorned the halls. Curious, Ranma looked around, absorbing as much as possible.

"So this is Hogwarts?"

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "How do you like it?"

"Seems neat. Quiet, though."

"It's only because of the summer holiday. Soon enough we'll have loads of children back for their studies." They pair chatted as they walked. Madam Pomfrey walked slowly to accommodate Ranma's pace.

It was only a short time until they reached the front door of the castle. Ranma thanked her guide and headed down towards Hagrid's hut. The half-giant was outside tending to a vegetable patch when Ranma arrived. He straightened and waved enthusiastically, a broad grin on his face. "Mornin'!"

Ranma returned both the wave and the smile and joined him in the garden. "Hi." She looked around. "Nice garden."

Hagrid beamed. He picked up a garden hose and began to water some plants, not really paying attention to where he was spraying the water.

Ranma chuckled in spite of herself. She could see why Harry said the groundskeeper couldn't keep a secret for the life of him. "Did your brother get a chance to talk to those giants?"

Hagrid nodded vigorously and consequently ended up flailing with the hose. Ranma got a spray of water in the face. She wiped her eyes with one hand, only to look up to see Hagrid looking apologetic.

"Err…Sorry, Ranma."

She grinned again. "Don't be." She finished drying off with the front of her shirt. "So, what did they say?"

"Who?"

"The giants."

"Oh, dem!" Hagrid beamed. "They was right pleased with your offer. Grawp said they'd like you to come by as often as you like. I should be thankin' ye, as ya made my job a hellava lot easier, what with you beatin' them up and what not. Way things work with giants, once ya beat 'em, ye become the leader, ya see. Until they can beat ya back, ye're sort of in charge."

Ranma cocked her head. "Huh. I've heard of stranger rules." She shrugged. "That's nice of them, I suppose."

"You can just tell me stuff and I can get Grawp to relay the message. It will help keep 'em out of my hair and out of trouble, it will." Hargrid nodded authoritatively, punctuating is statement by watering a patch of squash with the garden hose.

"They bother you much?"

"No, not bother per say. But they are right pain in the neck to keep off the grounds." Hagrid turned off the water and rolled up the hose. "Care to come in for a spot of tea?"

"I'd love that." Ranma followed him out of the garden. "What happened to Fluffy? Could I meet him?"

"Fluffy? Bless your heart! That was such a sweet, adorable little puppy – wouldn't hurt 'nary a fly. Anyway, after that whole Stone business, twasn't much use keepin' 'im in the castle, and a couple of firs' years nearly…"

------

Harry opened his eyes and reached for his glasses on the night stand. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly time to go pick up Ranma. Tossing on some comfortable clothes, he summoned a robe and departed for Hogsmead after a quick breakfast of cereal.

The walk from the village was pleasant in the morning air. The summer heat hadn't started yet. When he got to the front door of the castle, he was let in by a house elf and worked his way quickly to the infirmary.

Harry stuck his head into Pomfrey's office. She was writing a report at her desk, gently nibbling on the end of her quill as she contemplated her next words.

"Madam Pomfrey?"

She turned around. "Harry! Good morning!" She stood and came to the door. "I suppose you're here for our guest."

He nodded.

"I took her down to visit with Hagrid about an hour ago. She should still be there."

Harry thanked her and stayed around for a bit, exchanging small talk. Pleasantries done, he headed for the grounds. He paused to knock as he got to the door of Hagrid's hut. He could hear the half-giant's voice through the door, and just caught the sounds of Ranma's laughter in response to something Hagrid had said.

He knocked loudly and let himself in.

-----

"Harry!"

Harry stepped inside and looked at Ranma when she called his name. She was seated at the table in one of Hagrid's chairs, clasping a mug that looked to be the size of a trophy cup in both hands. Her legs were swinging in the air, nearly a foot and a half off the ground, looking like a small child in that oversized furniture. She gave him a quick wink over her mug.

She was smiling. He had seen many of her smiles – satisfaction from learning a technique, or from a particularly good meal, or just general contentment. Rarely had he seen such a smile as this. It was a genuine smile, not trying to conceal or mask anything. It was just her happiness at being alive, happy to be in the moment, sharing a laugh with a friend.

It caught him off guard. She looked so open at that moment, so happy, so beautiful. He felt his heart skip a beat. He cleared his throat. "Morning Ranma, Hagrid. How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"Fantastic!" She placed her mug on the table. "He's just telling me some stories about the creatures he's seen." She shook her head wistfully. "Norbertta sounds like she was a handful."

"She was." Harry shifted. "Would you like to stay here for a bit, or would you rather go home?"

"Home, actually. I've taken up too much of Hagrid's time already. Also," she made a disgusted face, "I could really use a shower."

Hagrid protested politely and asked her to stay. Ranma wiggled out of it, promising to come again soon to go "play with the giants." Harry rolled his eyes at the sight of them grinning madly at the prospect. If he hadn't thought she was crazy before, the look on her face as she talked about going back only convinced him.

Ranma was humming softly to herself as they walked side by side. Rather than head directly towards the village, Ranma suggested they walk by the lake shore for a bit.

"I thought you wanted to go home?"

"I do, but it's pretty here. I want to enjoy it for a bit."

Harry was happy to oblige, watching her as she positively bounced with energy as she hummed.

"You're in a good mood. I've never heard you humming before."

"I am. I can't explain it, but…" She twirled on one foot, arms out stretched as she looked at the sky. "I haven't felt like this in…" She paused in her twirling, carefully balanced on the ball of one foot and not even noticing. Her eyebrows knitted as she thought. "… I can't remember, actually."

"How do you feel?"

She smiled. "Free." The smile remained. "Hey, want to go swimming?" The corners of her eyes crinkled in a way that Harry had learned to associate with either pain or mischief.

He gulped. "Do I have a choice?"

She shook her head. "Yes. You can get thrown in the lake with your cloths on, or you can use the time I'm offering to conjure up some swim trunks before I throw you in the lake." The smile never left her face.

"Well, in that case…" Harry pulled out his wand and conjured up a pair of trunks, banishing the rest of his clothing afterwards. He had just enough time to put his wand away when suddenly he was pulled into the water by a red blur.

The water was refreshing, cool but not cold. He spluttered to the surface, standing chest deep in water as he fumbled for his glasses.

"Don't worry, they're on the grass."

Harry turned around to see Ranma backstroking through the water, wearing a simple green one-piece suit.

"Where'd you get that?"

"I always carry one." She flipped over to her stomach, swimming towards him with a free-style crawl. "Come on, let's swim out a bit." She swam away from the bank towards the center of the lake. Harry followed as best he could. A few minutes later, she stopped swimming and treaded water, waiting for Harry to catch up.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded and smiled. "Yeah."

"Let's play a game."

Harry looked at her closely. Her eyes screamed mischief. Usually, Ranma's ideas of fun were rather painful for him.

"What kind of game." He narrowed his eyes.

She pursed her lips and scratched her chin, idly treading water as she pretended to ponder for a few moments. "Let's play tag."

"Tag?"

"Yeah. Tag. Like, you have to catch me."

"What's in this for me?" Harry asked, suspicious.

"If you can touch me in the next fifteen minutes, I'll kiss you again."

"Deal."

-----

Harry dragged himself to the bank, flopping down on his back exhausted as he stared at the sky. He'd been right. Nothing but mischief. He was exhausted – he could barely feel his arms. Fifteen minutes of trying to catch her had turned to thirty, then an hour, and now…

He heard Ranma step out of the water. He lifted his head to watch her walk up to him, blocking out the sun and dripping water all over him.

"Too bad, Harry." She reached back and wrung out her pigtail, dripping most of the water in his face. "I was kind of hoping you could catch me at least once."

"You're a tease, you know that?"

"Yeap. But it was good motivation for you, wasn't it?"

He had to admit it had been. He didn't think he'd ever swum that hard in his life. But no matter how fast he moved, she just seemed to be a finger's length away. "Any chance of getting a consolation prize, at least?"

She stretched out on the grass to his left, luxuriating in the sun's warmth like a cat. "Hmm… Depends on what you had in mind."

"A kiss?" He asked, hopefully.

"Cute, but no. You've got to earn it. Try again."

Harry rolled his head to look at her. The smile was still there. "Hmm… nothing else I really want at this moment, though."

Ranma rolled to her side to look at him, supporting her head on her right hand, elbow in the grass. "I'm a guy, you know."

Harry none too subtly stared at her considerable assets that her suit did little to disguise. "You don't look like one."

Ranma smirked. "My eyes are up here, Harry."

"Yeah, but your boobs are down there."

"Cheeky bastard."

Harry smirked. "What can I say? I like what I see."

"Would you still feel that way about me if I suddenly transformed?"

Harry was about to give a wiseass remark, but stopped himself when he caught the look on her face. He sighed. This time, he did look her in the eyes when he answered. "I have no way of knowing, Ranma. I've only ever known you like this. I've tried to ignore my feelings for a long time, and I haven't been able too."

"You didn't answer my question." She scooted a little closer so he didn't have to turn his head so far to look at her.

"I know." He sighed. "Honestly, I'd like to be able to tell you that I'd feel the same way about you no matter what you looked like, but until that time comes I have no way of knowing how I'll react, or even how you'll react." Harry looked at her again. "But at the same, time, I don't even know how you feel about me. You've claimed you only wanted to be friends, but yet you kissed me first."

Ranma grimaced. "Yeah, I know." She flicked her eyes away, looking down towards the water. "Honestly? I'm confused, but I think I'm accepting it, for now."

"Good. I'm going to be your friend regardless, Ranma. If I can steal a few kisses at the same time, even better."

They stared at each other for a bit, neither breaking eye contact. Harry spoke first. "Can I look at your boobs again?"

"Pervert." She snorted. Harry was relieved to see the smile was back, with only a hint of tightness around her eyes. If he didn't know what to look for, he would have missed it.

"I'm not going to apologize. They're pretty spectacular."

"Harry, Harry, Harry…" Ranma reached forward with her left hand and ruffled his hair. "Don't change, okay?"

"I'm going to have too to get out of these shorts."

"Liar. I know for a fact you can barely move right now."

"Maybe I'm just lulling you into a false sense of security. That way, you won't be ready for my surprise attack."

"che…" She scoffed. "As if you could ever touch me. You're a hundred years to young to keep up with me, Harry."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then prove it." He stared at her again, challenging her. He knew there was one thing she couldn't resist, and that was a challenge.

"Why should I?" She pretended not to be intrigued, but he could tell by the subtle shifting of her eyes she was curious.

"Just as I thought. All talk, no action." It took a great deal of willpower, but Harry was able to pull his eyes away from her face, from her body and look up at the sky. "Figures you'd be a chicken."

Her face appeared over his suddenly, blocking out the light. "What did you call me?"

"Chicken."

"Take that back."

"Make me."

"Why you…" She didn't get to finish those words, though. Just because Harry felt like he couldn't use his arms didn't mean that he actually couldn't. Ignoring the fatigue, he wrapped his left arm around her waist and used his right arm to cradle her shoulders, pulling him on top of his chest.

Sure, Ranma knew how to push his buttons, but you didn't live with someone for so long, and learn so much about them, without learning what pushed their buttons, too.

There was a brief moment of hesitation as Harry looked in her eyes. She tensed slightly, but didn't pull away as he slowly drew his head towards hers. He paused again right before his lips made first contact. When she didn't pull away, he closed the distance, gently bringing his lips to hers.

She tensed slightly, then let out a small sigh as she closed her eyes and relaxed into the kiss. She shifted slightly on his chest to get comfortable, letting his arm support the weight of her neck as they gently began to explore.

He knew that she could have dodged the moment he moved, but the fact that she hadn't, and the fact that she was responding back (with increasing enthusiasm, he noted), made everything worth it. He lost track of time. She must of, as well, because only much later, when her stomach growled, did she pull away. Ranma was flushed and breathing heavily. Harry was too, for that matter, but he also had a shit-eating grin on his face as he watched her come to terms with what they had just been doing, and for how long.

Ranma shifted so that she was lying on her side across his chest, far enough away that he couldn't kiss her easily but close enough to tempt him to try. He moved his head again to narrow the distance, but her hand on his forehead prevented it.

"Down boy."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"I can too. I know exactly what's going through your mind right now." She tapped her temple with a finger. "It isn't a mystery to me like it is to some women."

"You didn't seem to mind, though."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Your ego is entirely too big right now."

"But did you mind?"

"No… not really." A small smile crept into her face. "But you could use some work on your technique."

"I could use some work?" Harry sputtered.

"Yeah. Gonna have to put you through some serious training." This time, Ranma leaned forward but was stopped by a loud groan from her stomach.

"Hungry?"

"Shut it." She glared at him, but here was no heat in it.

"Come on." He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back so that he could stand. "Let's go home. Cheli's probably wondering where we are, anyway." He reached down and offered a hand to help her up.

Hesitantly, she took the hand he offered to her and pulled. He crashed to the ground.

"Oops. Sorry Harry."

He managed to mumble "Too… strong…" around a face full of dirt.

-------

The next couple of weeks flew by. Whatever initial reluctance Ranma might have had about expressing herself physically practically vanished after they went swimming. He had joked about it (right before she proceeded to snog him senseless on the couch). She just shrugged and commented on having more than thirty years of catching up to do.

This behavior did not go unnoticed, of course.

Cheli had been delighted when she discovered them the first time, but then realized that she had just witnessed her dad and his girlfriend using her favorite couch as make out central. Delight quickly turned to disgust as she fled the living room. Cheli proceeded to lock herself into her bedroom, turning up both the TV and the stereo in her room to full blast. She did not come out of her room for the rest of the day, avoiding them both.

Neither adult seemed to mind, though, as Ranma was putting Harry through some intensive training on his technique.

When Harry came to talk to her about it later, first thing he did was turn down the infernal racket created by her electronic devices. Then, he pulled the pillow off her head and coaxed her to come out from under the layer of blankets she had covered herself so that they could talk. In the end, he had to banish nearly half of them to force her to come out of the fortress she had constructed around herself.

She shuddered when she looked at him. It didn't help that he had mused hair and a visible hickey on his neck. When he tried to hug her, he swore she apparated, even though he didn't hear the pop. "No way are you touching me with those hands, Mr. Gropey-McGropeGrope!" She continued to shout at him incoherently for a good while until she managed to work her aggression out of her system.

Once she calmed down enough to actually talk to him, Harry explained that Ranma wasn't trying to replace her mother, and his relationship Ranma would not prevent him from paying attention to her. If anything, he explained, he'd be paying more attention to her, because he had spent so much time focusing on his work for so long. Ranma, however, was good for him in many ways, because he realized that his family was more important than his work, and he wanted to make up for the lost years.

To which Cheli had replied she didn't care about that. But, given that she was his daughter, the vision of her dad groping someone was permanently burned into her mind. No child should be mentally scarred like that! She had hoped to escape her teenage years without ever witnessing her dad in any sort of state of passion. Crotchety old men like Harry weren't supposed to have sex lives – it went against all that was good and holy, and if having Harry as a dad hadn't been enough to scar her for life, she certainly was now, thank you very much.

Couldn't you two have waited for three weeks until I went back to school? Why didn't you use your own god damn room, at least! And put on some concealer over that mark on your neck! You aren't fourteen, for crying out loud! And do you think you could put up some sort of sound barrier or warning sign? Bad enough to witness her dad necking, but if she ever saw either of them in a state of partial or full undress, so help her god, there would be blood.

She vowed to never sit on that couch again until it had been "decontaminated." Even after two weeks, she still refused to give Harry a hug. The closest she came to it was an awkward shoulder pat that brought as little of her body in contact with his. It screamed aversion. Ranma laughed so hard she almost asphyxiated after witnessing it.

Cheli didn't avoid Ranma unless she was with her dad. Apparently, Cheli could acknowledge that her father was a normal human, and, like most normal humans, that he had needs. However, acknowledging that those needs included intimate relations with members of the opposite sex managed to break her fragile mind.

Her relationship with Ranma didn't change much. She still bothered Ranma in her room, still wanted her hair done, and still seemed both wary and adoring of the older red-head at the same time. However, maybe if only because of her (still very limited) experience, she was able to talk with Cheli about the subject she was most curious in (boys, namely.) As long as the conversation was kept general it was okay. The one time Ranma mentioned that Harry seemed to like this or that particular method of pleasure, the poor girl would shut down mentally for hours.

This, again, suited Ranma just fine. If she needed some privacy, all she had to do was drop a casual reference to Harry's sexual preferences. This left her plenty of time to train, practice magic, and just hang out. Ranma wouldn't allow herself or Harry to slack, but she did make some leeway for distractions. The couch was comfortable, especially when there was a second body to share it with.

Harry had tried to convince her to take it to a room, either hers or his, but Ranma quickly put the kibosh on that idea.

She needed to work through some hormones first, and she didn't trust herself to be alone with him right now. She told him as much, and immediately regretted it. He got a lecherous grin on his face and attempted to apparate to his room with her. It took a sound beating with continued threat of physical pain to convince Harry of her seriousness in this matter. So, for the time being, public places were best, as it kept her from getting too carried away.

Every morning, Cheli looked longingly at the couch and tried to hold back her tears. Ranma couldn't resist teasing her about it, of course. At least the teenager didn't hold a grudge against the older red-head. She was happy that Ranma (and by extension, her dad too, but ohmygodyuck!) were so happy, but trauma does weird things to the teenage mind.

Her poor couch!

Things continued like this for until Ranma brought up o-bon.

-------

"Japan?" Cheli blinked. "Cool. Yeah, I'd like to go, as long as you promise not to suck face with my dad in public, or where I can see you."

"Cheli…" Harry sighed, exasperated.

"Don't mind him, Cheli. He's just got a bad case of blue balls right now." Ranma dug into her breakfast with gusto.

Cheli put her hands on her ears and clenched her eyes shut. "TMI, TMI, TMI!" For emphasis, she shouted, "TMI."

"TMI?" Ranma asked Harry around a bite of eggs and toast.

"Too much information." Harry added helpfully. "And I'm not suffering from blue balls. I took care of that last night, thank you very much."

Cheli's face turned green. "Oh god. I think I'm going to be sick."

"You didn't tell me that, Harry." Ranma smirked at him, clearly enjoying making Cheli uncomfortable.

The teen slammed her hands on the table. "STOP IT! Right now! I'm too young to be hearing this kind of stuff. Honestly!" She huffed. "You guys act like you're a bunch of horny teenagers."

Ranma shrugged. "Actually, I'm much hornier now than I was as a teenager." She pointed her fork at Harry. "And I'm pretty sure he has much better control now than when he was sixteen."

Harry nodded. "Much better."

"GUYS!"

Ranma snorted while Harry gave a half-hearted, "Sorry, Cheli."

She glared balefully at the two adults. "No you're not."

Ranma grinned while Harry, at least, had the grace to look sheepish. "You're absolutely right. We're not."

Looking for some avenue out of the conversation, she quickly latched on to the last topic of conversation that hadn't been about her dad's sex life. "So, what's this o-bon thing, then?"

Ranma turned serious. "It's a Buddhist custom. In August, we go to honor our ancestors. It's pretty simple. You go to the grave and make some offering to ease the suffering of the departed souls. I haven't been back in a long time, and I really should go this year." She took another bite of toast. "And since I already asked your father if he wanted to go, I thought you might like to see Japan, too. There are lots of cool things I could show you."

"If my dad doesn't mind, I'd like to go. When would we leave?"

Ranma looked at Harry. "Up to you, really. You're dad's going to be making the port-keys. I'll be leaving tomorrow so I can visit Ku Lon in China. I want to spend a day or two there, because I need to ask her some questions about some stuff. You guys are welcome to come with me, but if you don't want too you'll leave here a couple days later and we'll meet up in Tokyo."

Cheli thought about it briefly. Before she could answer, though, Harry butted in. "And no, if we stay here a couple of extra days, I will not 'decontaminate' the couch."

"I hate you, you know."

"I love you too, dear." Harry just smiled and picked up his tea. "Please pass the toast?"

Cheli glared at him and passed the plate around.

"So, you want to come to China, then?" Ranma asked.

Cheli sighed. "What choice do I have, really?"

Harry nodded in agreement. "That's usually what I say before Ranma takes advantage of me. Honestly, the way she keeps ripping off my shirts, I'm going to need to replace my wardrobe soon."

"DAAAD!"

-------

Long-distance portkey travel never really agreed with anyone. So, after getting dragged half-way around the globe, Cheli pitched forward when her feet hit the ground and sprawled out in the dirt. Her dad kept his feet, which surprised her, as did Ranma, which didn't.

By the time she picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off her jeans and blouse, Ranma was busy jabbering away in some language she didn't understand to a man with coke-bottle glasses, a flowing white robe, and long, luxurious hair.

She'd have to get his hair care tips before she left. Idly, she began to look around the village. It didn't look like much. All the streets were hard-packed dirt, with the houses constructed out of rough timber with thatched or wooden shingled roofs.

This certainly wasn't what she imagined. It looked boring. The thought suddenly hit her that if she thought it was boring, then her dad and Ranma would probably find it boring as well. Bored horny adults meant bad things for her general mental health.

Hopefully she'd find some way to keep out of their way. Perhaps she could sleep with a bubble-head charm on to keep out the sounds? No, that wouldn't work, because she'd probably end up running out of air before those two rabbits ran out of energy.

Hmm…

She picked up her backpack checked it for dirt. Her dad was still talking to that guy in the long white robe. Her dad touched her shoulder, his wand in his other hand. She felt a tingle of magic as her dad hit her with a small spell. The babbling sounds resolved themselves as the translation spell took effect.

-----

"Hi Mu Tsu!" Harry waved and bowed slightly. The Amazon male bowed back.

"We are honored again with your visit. Who is the lady with you?"

Harry realized that Cheli didn't have a spell on her yet. He quickly touched her shoulder and pulled out his wand, casting a translation spell. "This is my daughter, Achelios."

Cheli stuck out her hand. "Most people call me Cheli, including my pervert dad over here."

Mu Tsu stared at her hand oddly for a moment, before realizing what was going on. "Oh yes. The Western custom." He stuck his hand out too, but didn't reach hers. Instead, he simply bowed over his extended hand and straightened. "Welcome to our village. If you will follow me?"

Cheli looked up at her dad in confusion. He mouthed, "Don't worry about it."

"So, where did Ranma run off to?" Harry asked.

"She mentioned that she had business to discuss with Elder Ku Lon. They will be joining us for dinner. You must be tired from your journey. Perhaps you'd like to freshen up and rest until the meal is ready?"

Harry nodded. He could see that Cheli was doing the same. "That would be nice, Mu Tsu."

Mu Tsu led them to a guest house and stopped by the front door. "I will return in about two hours. Until then, please rest easy."

"We will. Give my regards to your wife, Xian Pu."

The male Amazon nodded. "I shall do so. She will be at dinner, however, and you may tell her yourself." He bowed to the pair. "Until later."

When he withdrew, Cheli looked up at him and asked, "Why Is everybody here named after some kind of beauty product?"

------

Ranma found Ku Lon supervising training of some of the more advance warriors. Judging by the footwork, they looked to be doing some variation of a sword kata adapted for fighting with knives. She walked up silently to the old elder and watched as Ku Lon watched, absorbing the style herself, critiquing it, deconstructing it, and making it better.

It was subconscious.

By the time she had watched for fifteen minutes, she felt pretty confident she could probably run through it from memory.

Practice continued for another half-hour, during which time Ranma did not speak. It was impolite to disrupt when a master was teaching students. After practice wound down, however…

"Alright, ya' old hag." Ranma growled out, "What exactly did you do to me last time with those pressure points?"

Ku Lon cackled softly. "Been giving you problems, has it?"

"No… not really."

Ku Lon arched an eyebrow. "Ummm Hmmmm."

"Alright, yes. Happy?" Ranma let out, frustration evident in her sigh.

"Very much so."

"You think we could go somewhere private to talk for a bit?" Ranma asked.

"How private?"

"As private as you can get."

"Follow, then." Ku Lon hopped along as she and Ranma walked away from the training ground. Rather than heading towards her house, as she expected, Ku Lon led her out of the village. They walked nearly half a mile outside of the gates, stopping by a small stream that ran through a copse. Ku Lon dismounted her cane and sat on the grass by the stream, sitting cross legged.

Ranma joined her on the grass.

"This," Ku Lon gestured, "is as private as I can offer you. Speak freely."

Ranma paused. "Two things, actually. I'll get to the pressure points in a bit." Ranma sat up straight. "Do I seem different to you?"

This was not the question that Ku Lon had been expecting. "You seem... more relaxed, perhaps. Outwardly, no. Your appearance has not changed. Why?"

"Something happened. I recently completed a Hi Ryu Shoten Ha, but..." Ranma shook her head. "It was nothing like any of the others I've done. Ever since then, I've been feeling strange. It's been bothering me."

Seeing the look of confusion on Ku Lon's face, Ranma explained. "Not in a bad way. It's a good thing. But it's starting to scare me a little. I'm just worried that it's going to be permanent, and I'm not used to feeling like this."

"Feeling like what?"

Ranma shrugged. "I don't know how best to describe it." She scrubbed her hands through her hair. "I feel... invincible. Like I'm in control of everything, but at the same time I'm not."

"Most people just call that being happy, Ranma."

"I'm not sure I know how to be happy, Ku Lon. It almost feels as if I'm watching a movie, or that I'm a puppet in my own body."

Ku Lon didn't say anything, but indicated she should continue.

So she did. "You know that feeling you get when you're at the top of your game, and everything is going right? It only lasts an instant, but in that one instant you feel like you can accomplish anything, right? At the same time, it feels like you aren't in control of your own actions, because something is telling you what you need to do?"

Ku Lon nodded. "We call it the pinnacle. It's something all warriors strive to achieve, because when you achieve it, for one shining moment, you are unstoppable."

Ranma agreed. "Exactly. It's like that, except..." she trailed off. "more. I've been at that pinnacle before. Fighting Herb. Fighting Saffron. Hell, even fighting you a few times. But this time... It hasn't gone away." Ranma looked back at the village. "I've felt like I can't mess up. I've tried. Today, watching those girls do the kata... I had it memorized after fifteen minutes. I'm pretty sure I could do it perfectly now, even though I saw it for the first time just not too long ago, and I've never performed it."

Ku Lon grunted, almost as if she'd been punched in the gut. "Tell me how this happened."

And so Ranma did. She told her about the giants, the fight, and Harry's account of what transpired after she released the tornado. "I only have vague impressions of what was happening I started the spiral, and I can't remember anything after reaching the fire, but I do not doubt Harry's version of events. Hagrid mentioned seeing the dragon too, which is why he came into the forest." She pulled up a few blades of grass as she contemplated what to say next. "And ever since I woke up, I've been feeling like this. It's unnerving."

Ku Lon laughed. Not her normal cackle, but a true, heartfelt laugh that started in her belly and burst forth, continuing unabated for several minutes. She was wiping tears from her eyes before by the time her mirth resided. "Oh Ranma..." The old woman stood up and wrapped Ranma in a hug. Standing, she wasn't much taller than the sitting red-head, but it didn't matter. "You know how to make an old lady happy. You've no idea what you're feeling, do you?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be coming to you if I did, would I?"

"No, I suppose not." Ku Lon gave her another hug.

"So, will this feeling go away?"

"Do you want it too?"

"Not really. But it seems... wrong... somehow." Ranma shrugged, uncomfortably. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of something I shouldn't be."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Ranma. You should just accept it and move on."

"Okay... I guess." She tossed the grass in her hands to the wind. "So, what did I do?"

"I told you. You're happy."

Ranma just gave her a long suffering look.

Ku Lon gave her a final squeeze before releasing her. "Believe me or not, it isn't my place to tell you, child. You will realize it soon enough, however." Ku Lon sat down again, this time leaning up against the younger woman. "So, what else did you want to talk about?"

This time Ranma growled. "Those bloody pressure points."

The cackle was back. "Enjoying the effects?"

"It's frustrating." The glare was obvious.

"And now?"

"It's still frustrating." Ranma attempted to act nonchalant, but the faint blush on her cheeks gave her away. "But Harry's a good kisser."

It took Ku Lon several minutes to get her laughter under control again. "Is he now?"

Ranma shrugged.

"Was this before or after the fight with the dragons?"

"After." Ranma cocked her head. "Why, does it matter?"

Ku Lon shook her head. "No, but it certainly seems to fit with everything else, doesn't it?"

A disgruntled Ranma pulled up more grass and tossed it away. "Sometimes you're no help at all, you know that?"

"It's an old woman's prerogative, Ranma." She rubbed a gnarled hand down Ranma's back. "Besides, you're cute when you're frustrated."

"Yeah, well, I know an old woman who's about to get the snot beat out of her."

Ku Lon shook her head and patted Ranma's back. "I'm not going to fight you anymore, Ranma."

The elder winced as she saw Ranma's face fall. "Don't misunderstand - I'll teach you everything I know, but I know enough to realize that you've surpassed me in the Art. I'll doubt I'd ever be able to beat you in a fight again without risking serious injury to myself. At my age, pride is no longer worth it."

"Because of what happened?"

Ku Lon nodded. "Perhaps. It's more than that, though. Take it for what it is. If the feeling hasn't faded by now, I doubt it will. Use it. Learn to accept it. Over time, I'm sure you'll find uses for it you never imagined."

Ranma sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. I don't want to be a freak."

"You aren't. You're just unique."

A companionable silence fell. "So, about those pressure points..." Ranma asked.

"Yes?"

"Do they influence the way I think and feel, or is it me doing this stuff?"

Ku Lon shook her head. "Those particular points can't influence anything but biology. They are old marital aides used to reignite passion. They can't make you feel anything that isn't there, they just make whatever urges you have stronger."

"But I'm a guy biologically, damn it. How can I be having these urges?"

"How do you know that you're a guy?"

This brought Ranma up short.

"I mean, I still think like I did back then, and I still feel like I did when I was a guy."

"Are you sure about that, Ranma?" Ku Lon asked.

"Of course. I'm still the same me I was before all this happened."

Ku Lon shook her head. "But you aren't. You're nothing like that brash young man I knew back in Japan. It's been sixteen years since you were male. Do you honestly remember what it feels like to be male? You've probably had more periods than erections at this point in your life."

"I'd rather have the erections. So much easier to deal with." Ranma grumbled.

"No doubt." Ku Lon agreed readily. "But the point is, you haven't had one in sixteen years."

"Yeah, but I still feel the loss of those bits pretty strongly."

"Of course you do. But have you ever thought about how Jusenkyou works, Ranma?"

"I've tried not too. It gives me nightmares."

"The magic has to do more than just cause you to suddenly have a different body. We know it can affect your thought processes. Do you remember the _Fūshannīchuan_?"

"Spring of the Drowned Buddhist Priest?" Ranma scratched her head. "What was that guy's name…?"

"Kin'nee. Remember how he experienced a dramatic personality shift after their exposure to Jusenkyou?"

"But that's just it. I'm still the same person I was. My mind, my personality, my memories… They all remained the same." Ranma shook her head. "Jusenkyou didn't change who I was, just what I was."

Ku Lon sighed. "That's my point. When Jusenkyou changed you, it didn't take a male brain and put it in a female body. It took your personality, your memories, and your skills and put them in a female brain. You held onto your maleness, but your body is female. Your brain is female. If you choose, you can be that female."

"But I can also stay the way I was."

"You could." Ku Lon nodded in agreement. "But why would you want to? I've never seen you so happy before."

"It's one thing to know I'll never be who I was again up here," Ranma tapped her head, "but it's hard to accept it here." She pointed at her heart.

"I realize that. But Jusenkyou gives you the biology you need to adapt. Take Mu Tsu. A human can't know how to be a duck. Yet, he knew how to fly instinctively from the first time he was cursed. While in his duck form, he retains all of what it is that makes him Mu Tsu. He retains his mind, his core personality, and his memories, but he also gets the instinctive knowledge of how to be a duck. Xian Pu's the same in her cat from. The same is true of you in this form."

"I never wanted to be a woman, Ku Lon."

The elder nodded. "You've always believed that you were a man trapped in a woman's body. I'm telling you that's not the case. You are your own person, with your own memories. Some of those happen to be from your life as a man. You can choose your own path. You have free will."

"But that sucks for Harry, doesn't it?"

"Why does it suck for Harry?"

"Because he likes this body."

Ku Lon shook her head. "While no doubt he likes the body, it's the personality that attracts him. It is unlikely he will ever understand how difficult this is for you. I would never wish this upon my worst enemy. But I care for you. I want you to be happy. Regardless of which way you choose."

"Thanks." Ranma's voice was soft. She stared off into the distance. When she spoke again, it was with resignation. "So it's me, then."

"In a roundabout way of speaking, yes. But, really, it's just biology. You can ignore it or act on it as you like. Have you enjoyed Harry's attentions so far?"

Ranma nodded. "Much more than I expected. I've been scared by how much I've wanted them, actually."

"Why?"

"Because…" She sighed. "I want it, so it must mean I don't fear it as much anymore. The fact that I'm accepting it so quickly scares me the most."

"Sixteen years isn't exactly quick."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "But I've only known him for over a year."

Ku Lon scoffed. "Again, not exactly quick. I've known some ladies who decide to sleep with a guy five minutes after meeting them. I doubt you're in danger of becoming like that."

"Well, gee, that's a vote of confidence."

Ku Lon nodded. "It is. You are one of the most honorable people I've ever met. Regardless of how this works out, Harry's very lucky."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"If our… relationship," Ranma tried not to stumble over the new word, "works out, then he's going to go through a lot of physical pain as I whip him into shape." She shrugged. "And if it doesn't, he's going to go through a lot of physical on top of the heartbreak. He's my student now, and I intend to make him the best damn student I can, even with the late start."

Ku Lon hummed in contemplation. "I hadn't thought about it in that way before." She placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and used it as a brace to pull herself to a standing position. "At any rate, you are responsible for your own actions. You can blame me for bringing you to this state, but you are the one who had to act on your impulses."

Ranma nodded. "I figured as much. After the fight, it seemed..." She shrugged. "It didn't seem like a big deal anymore."

"And now?"

Ranma smirked. "Who knows?" She grabbed Ku Lon's cane and stood up. Reaching down, she hefted the elder to her shoulder and started walking towards the village. "You don't mind, do you?"

Ku Lon shifted her balance. "No."

"Ku Lon?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"No, thank you. I haven't had this much fun in ages." They headed towards the village. "Would you like to have Harry spar with some of the girls in the village?"

"They won't try and marry him if he wins, will they?"

"I can't promise that unless you stake a claim on him. He is rather fetching looking, after all."

"Sometimes I think you just make this stuff up as you go."

"That, Ranma, is what makes being an elder so much fun."

-----

Dinner was at Elder Ku Lon's house. After recovering from her shock that the old lady (who she thought was a house elf at first) was the leader of the village, Cheli introduced herself and tried to stay out of the way. She sat back and watched the chaos unfold around her as she desperately tried to eat with chop-sticks. She rarely ate with them and so found herself dropping bits of food on the table as she attempted to eat. Ranma noticed first and whispered something to Harry.

Her dad grinned at her and pulled out his wand, transfiguring one of the sticks in her hand into a fork. She mouthed a silent thank you as she dug in, finally able to enjoy the food.

Ranma and Xian Pu were locked into some sort of debate about the merits of using blunt weapons over swords. Mu Tsu was serving dinner, frequently getting up from the table to get more food or pour tea. Her dad and the elder were discussing some fight with giants and dragons. None of it made a lot of sense to her. Why would dragon fight a giant, anyway, much less six of them?

The problem was that this was the first time Cheli had been exposed to the translation spell, and was having difficulty following the conversation as she hadn't quite mastered how to filter out hearing two languages at once. Between the food, the strain of the spell, and the portkey journey, she soon found herself nodding off as the dinner stretched into the night.

----

Ranma nudged Harry as she saw Cheli's head bob and snap back up, clearly fighting sleep.

"Hn?"

Ranma tilted her head in Cheli's direction. "She's practically falling down."

"Oh." Harry made a move to get up. Ranma placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. "I'll do it. She probably still wants to avoid you touching her for a bit, Gropey."

"Right. Forgot about that." He nodded. "You know where we're staying?"

"Yeah." She stood. "Be right back." With that, Ranma explained what she was going to do and excused herself and Cheli from the table. Cheli mumbled a few sleepy words of thanks and well wishes before leaving Ku Lon's and heading to the guest house with Ranma.

A huge yawn cracked the teen's jaws as they walked side by side. "Sorry."

"No worries. It happens."

There were no electric lights this far into the Chinese wilderness. The stars overhead shone in full glory, the Milky Way bright enough to illuminate their path this late at night. They walked slowly, looking up at the stars. Cheli'd never seen a night sky like this before, and she wanted to take it in as best she was able. Also, since she wasn't used to dirt roads like the ones in the village, and it was easy to misstep and twist an ankle if you weren't careful.

"It's so beautiful…"

"It is, isn't it?" Ranma's nod was unseen in the dark. "You kind of forget how amazing the sky is when you live in the city so long."

"How…" she yawned again, "do you have so much energy, anyway?"

"Hormones." Ranma smirked.

"You suck."

"Not yet, but there's still a chance Harry could get lucky."

"STOP THAT!"

Ranma held up her hands defensively. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Do you think you guys are going to get married?"

Ranma nearly tripped. "Where did that come from?"

"What, it's a logical question." Cheli ticked of some points on her fingers as she continued to walk. "You guys get a long really well. You're obviously attracted to each other, seeing as how I'm never getting my couch back and well…" she trailed off. "I kind of like the person my dad's become with you're around."

Ranma smiled softly. "That's sweet of you to say, but I don't know Cheli."

"You should."

"Why?"

"Because he's so happy. You make him that way."

"Being happy isn't necessarily a good enough reason, you know. Happiness doesn't always last."

"I know." Cheli kicked a small pebble down the street. "But, I've seen lots of my friend's parents. You guys act the same way as the good ones."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I dunno. You just… compliment each other. Even I can see that."

"If we got married, you realize that means I'd be your step-mother, and I'd be having sex with your father, right?" Ranma teased.

"I've accepted that you're going to end up doing it anyway." Cheli grunted. "And you'll probably use the couch." She shuddered.

Ranma didn't say anything. They reached the guest house. "Good night, Cheli."

"Night Ranma."

Before turning to go back to the Elder's house, Ranma asked, "Are you really okay with this?"

"Yeah." Cheli stepped forward and gave Ranma a hug. "I like you a lot. Maybe you could teach me to be strong like you are if you stayed around." She dropped her arms. "Night!"

Ranma watched her go inside. She shoved her hands in her pockets and gazed up at the stars as she walked back, lost in thought.

----

The alcohol had been broken out by the time she returned. The food had been forgotten in favor of the dark, harsh liquor that was favored in these parts. Nobody was drunk yet, but there was a certain level of looseness at the implied the diners were quickly reaching a state of mild inebriation. She had no intention of getting drunk, but didn't mind joining in as sat back down, joining in the conversation.

-------

Ranma giggled as she and Harry walked back to the guest house, tipsy and in a good mood. Harry had an arm slung around her shoulders, and she had her arm around his waist. They stopped occasionally underd the stars, kissing and touching each other as they half-walked, half stumbled to the guest house, trying to kiss and walk at the same time. He was a bit drunker than she was, but neither was actually in a bad state. It felt good to be out, to be unconcerned, just enjoying each other's company.

To be normal, for once.

They arrived at the house suddenly.

Harry pulled her around and gave her a hug, followed by a long kiss. She responded. When he finally pulled away for some air, he asked in a husky voice if she wanted to come up for a night cap.

Her first impulse was to decline. Maybe it was being in his arms, or maybe feeling his breath against her neck, or possibly it was the alcohol giving her courage. Or maybe, she decided, it was because she as nervous and scared as she was, it wasn't Harry that made her nervous. She was scared of herself, scared of liking this too much.

Fuck it. If she could deal with her fear of cats, then she could deal with this.

She agreed, with two stipulations. No sex. At least, not yet. Second, they'd have to be quiet. No reason to piss of Cheli more than she already was.

-------

Ranma awoke in the morning snuggled into the bed, luxuriating the feeling of the soft sheets against her skin and the warmth radiating against her back. A warm, heavy weight rested on her side and stomach, ending across her chest. Her eyes snapped open and her heart sped up as she realized that the warmth was Harry curled up against her, his arm thrown across her body as he pulled her close, spooning her.

He was still asleep. Her heart slowed as she calmed, relaxing into the embrace. She couldn't feel any clothing on either of their bodies. Slowly, images floated to her mind from the activities of last night. How late had they stayed up?

It didn't matter. Harry had kept his promise. No sex, but, no holds barred, either. There was one good thing about having been a teenaged male in her past life – Ranma knew what felt good. For all her inexperience in matters sexual, she was a master of human physique, male _and_ female. She had surprised herself with how forward she'd been.

Ranma smirked as she thought of all the new tortures she could inflict on Cheli. She could even give her a few pointers.

She still couldn't answer the question about which sex had it better, but then again, it didn't matter, did it? All she knew is that she had it good, and Harry had been a big part of that.

Ranma rolled over so she was facing him, adjusting his arm so that it went under hers to fall against her back. She watched him sleep for a bit.

She didn't know what she was stepping into. Then again, Ranma didn't think she cared anymore. Sure, she was still scared, but at this point it was more of the tension that comes being in a new relationship, not because she was scared of sharing it with Harry. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, taking care not to wake him as she pulled herself closer, nestling her head against his shoulder.

The feeling that she had tried to describe to Ku Lon returned in full force. Ku Lon had called it happiness. Well, maybe it was. What ever it was, Ranma was tired. Pulling herself a little bit close to Harry, she fell back asleep.

-----

WARNING: LEMONS!!!

Just kidding. It's actually just a very long author's rant.

Three things.

One - I had to break this chapter up. I realized I was at the 10K word mark and I wasn't even in Japan yet. So, Japan will be chapter 13, followed by the conclusion, and the epilogue.

Two:

I get discouraged writing this story, and putting a lot of effort into editing, when I see stories with horrible grammer, terrible plots, and attrocious character development getting thousands of reviews. I feel like I'd get more response if I just threw shit against the walls and left it there for people to swarm over. Right now I'm doing the author's equivalent of politely flushing the toilet, wiping the lid, and using deodorizing spray keep the place sanitary, but as a result I only get polite murmurs of thanks rather than strong reactions I'd hoped for.

To those of you that do review, thank you very much.

Author Rant #3.

This was done because of a PM someone sent me. I obsessed about it for days. Keep in mind, physics is not my forte, but I do love science.

Let me also preface this whole long spiel with the statement - I'm not a physicist! II'm not even a mathemtician! If you are one you can pick this apart in any number of ways. I did go over this problem with a physicist (granted, his field of theory is lasers and quantum mechanics). The gentleman stated that the problem is a lot more complex than I make it out to be, but for what I was trying to illustrate it was adequate.

A body at rest remains at rest. That's the principle that we'll be working from here.

First, let's acknowledge that:

Force equals mass times acceleration. This is Newton's first law of motion. It, so far, after hundreds of years of testing, has been proven true in all cases (except particle physics, which is a separate branch of mathematics).

Just for giggles, let's try an exercise.

So, since FMA. (stupid FF.n e t won't accept equation symbols)

The weight of the boulder is 60 tones, or approximately 54545.5kg. Now, for our purposes in an air environment (on Earth), the mass is equivalent to the weight. This is not true underwater, but let's just play along and say that the inertial mass (the resistance the object to acceleration) remains the same regardless of its environment. Relativity postulates that inertial mass (mass) and gravitational mass (weight) are basically the same thing.

So, given that the boulder is 60 tones of pure badness, then Ranma's equally badass and accelerates that puppy from a rest state to nearly 100 mph in order to cover the distance in such a short time. Converting MPH to m/s would roughly give you 44.7 m/s.

FMA.

F54545.5kg x 44.7m/s

F2438183.9N (Newton's)

So, the force necessary to move the boulder would be 2,438,183.9N

That's a damn lot of force!

For reference, it would take a car (2500 lbs) only 50,795N to accelerate to 100mph, 50 times less force than the boulder. (Rounded, discounting friction, of course)

Okay.

Before we go on, we'll have to take it on faith that mass (weight, or the effect of gravity on an object) and inertial mass (the actual mass of the object, independent of gravity) are essentially equivalent.

It's a relativity thing.

If weight is equivalent to inertial mass, then amazing thing about this is that the force necessary to move the boulder remains constant, regardless of the environment. Okay, you smart physicists are now up in arms and I'm going to have a million death threats (please put them in the reviews!) flooding my mailbox.

The boulder might weight 60 tones on land, and maybe a third of that underwater, but the mass remains the same, regardless. Remember, mass can also be thought of an object at rest's resistance to being accelerated. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object. Mass never changes (unless converted to energy, as Einstein demonstrated so famously with EMC2) So the amount of force necessary to accelerate the boulder remains the same, even if the boulder was in a true zero gravity environment.

In air, you have only one real variable you need to worry about. That's gravity (we're pretending that friction and air resistance doesn't exist). That gives you the weight of the boulder. However, in a water environment, it weighs less. Fine. However, underwater, not only are you accelerating the inertial mass (the boulder), but you also have add water to that equation, it quickly becomes really a nightmare. Every single particle of water that she moves must also be accelerated with equal force to the boulder.

There's this really pesky thing about physics that states for every reaction, there's an equal and opposite reaction. So, while the boulder is being accelerated, the water's also pushing back with the same amount of force. We usually ignore air resistance as it tends to not matter, but you can't ignore water. Things don't move underwater. So, the actual force necessary to accelerate the boulder is, needless to say, enormous. Newton's Second Law of Motion states that acceleration is always caused by a force. Underwater, we call that drag. You know how much harder it is to walk underwater than on land? That's because water is resisting your attempts to accelerate it as you move.

The fact that Ranma was able to do it underwater makes it even more impressive. We didn't even have to factor gravity into this equation, but we would have to account for the mass of the water. As we've already seen, it takes a tremendous amount of force to move an object that big. It takes a tremendous amount of force to lift objects in water. Sure, weight is diminished, but mass is not affected. Water pressure is a fearsome thing. On top of that, you must still overcome inertia and the pressure of moving the water.

So in addition to moving the mass of 60 tons of boulder, you also have to move an equal or greater amount of displaced water. It takes at least as much, if not more strength to move the boulder underwater with zero leverage than in the air, particularly moving it at the speed she did. In particular, since water in incompressible, the harder you push on it, the more force you must exert in order move it. It isn't a static constant, as fluid dynamics are incredibly complex.

I wish I could do a quick calculation for you, but it is so hard to measure fluids accurately that I'd quickly stop writing forever until I could figure out the problem.

Wow.

After going through all this - it was pointed out to me I made a very basic mistake. I used velocity instead of acceleration - thank you to those who pointed it out. I told you I'm not a physicist. But, it was still a very fun mental excercise.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

-------

"OOHHHHHH! Takoyaki!" Ranma bounced up and down with enthusiasm as she dragged Harry and Cheli over to the small road-side octopus ball stand. "I LOVE THESE THINGS!" Ranma was greeted by the man deftly turning the little balls of batter and octopus in hot cast-iron molds, using nothing more than a pair of long, thin, metal rods. 

His appearance inspired confidence in his product. He looked like a long time vendor – a middle age man, combating the elements day after day for his art, making the perfect takoyaki. His grey hair was held back by a bandana with a rising sun motif. Ranma could feel the confidence radiating off the man as only a master of a craft exudes. Ranma bowed to the man and exchanged some greetings before pulling out pulled a wad of yen from her pocket and placed some money on the counter. "Give me four dozen!" 

The old man gave a cry of affirmation and quickly set to work. Cheli and Harry watched as the man poured the batter and set to work. Since arriving in Japan a few hours ago, they had barely even made headway into reaching their final destination, as Ranma was zipping around like a kid on a sugar high, forcing Harry and Cheli to sample as many street foods as she could find. 

This particular stand was the fourth one in less than two hours. First had been a yakitori stand, then a ramen stand, and some yakisoba. Harry was stuffed already, and Cheli wasn't that as an adventurous eater as he was. Still, it was good, and it was fun to see Ranma so excited about something other than martial arts or magic. 

Tokyo was overwhelming. London was a big city, but Tokyo was a metropolis that just took his breath away. They had ported into the Tokyo Ministry of Magic located in Yotsuya, within spitting distance of the Imperial Palace. From there, it had been a walk down a bewildering set of streets as Ranma led them round randomly, following some invisible path only apparent to her nose. 

The first batch of balls came out quickly. The proprietor drizzled some mayonnaise, sweet, thick soy sauce, seaweed and shaved dried bonito flakes on them before sticking a couple of toothpicks in the box and handing it over to the salivating Ranma. 

She popped one in her mouth and her eyes rolled back into her head. "Ohhh… god…. I've missed these! These arefantastic!" She popped another one in her mouth and let out a small, suggestive moan. 

"That good?"

Ranma nodded enthusiastically. "Sorry Harry, but these do things for me you can't possibly hope to match." 

"Duly noted." Harry shook his head ruefully as Ranma offered the container to him as Cheli. He took it first motioned for his daughter to take one, but she politely declined with a small shake of her head. Harry shrugged and picked one of the balls out of the container and popped it in his mouth. It burst open in a hot rush of flavor, the tangy sauce melding with the mayonnaise and seaweed. He opened his mouth and let the steam escaping, along with a small moan as the flavors overwhelmed his palette. He grunted. 

Ranma smirked with a raised eyebrow. "See what I'm talking about?"

Harry chewed and swallowed. "Cheli, you have got to try one of these!" 

"But they have octopus in them." She shook her head. "That's just weird."

"Come on, just one?" Harry offered the container forth again. "I promise you you'll like it."

Ranma received a second dozen from the vendor and proceeded to polish them off with a small series of moans, grunts, and sighs. Cheli looked back and forth between Ranma's histrionics and Harry's blessed out face as he ate another one, and gave in. 

Thinking that the worst it could do was kill her, she hesitantly popped one of the balls in her mouth, chewing slowly. 

"Well?" Harry had a grin on his face as he waited for her answer.

Cheli gave off a small moan of her own. "I'm gonna have to agree with Ranma on this one. These are… pretty amazing, actually." Cheli reached for another one. 

-------

"So, where are we headed, exactly?" Harry asked. Harry tried to ignore the press of the crowds around him, but it was difficult during rush hour. He'd never been surrounded by so many people, all walking with a purpose as they navigated the afternoon commute. 

Ranma was oblivious to it, though. She pointed to a location on the map they stood near. Just because the translation spell helped them understand the spoken language, it did nothing to make the characters on the map comprehensible. If it weren't for Ranma, Harry admitted he'd be totally lost. 

"Nerima." She pointed it out on the map. "We're here", she pointed to a location some distance from their destination. "We'll take a train to here," she traced one of the colored lines with her finger, "and then we'll walk to the inn."

Harry scratched his head. He turned to look for Cheli. One thing he didn't have to worry about was losing her in the crowd, as her red hair and height made her stick out like a neon sign. Even though she was only fifteen, she was still considerably taller than most of the women streaming through the station, and taller than a good deal of the men. She was currently standing a dozen meters away examining a vending machine in the train station, amusement and consternation clear on her face even from this distance. 

She caught her dad looking for her over the crowd and waved before turning back to the machine. 

"Why don't we just apparate there?" The crowd was getting to him, as was the heat. August in Japan was miserable. Ranma had warned him it was hot in Tokyo, but he couldn't believe how miserable it felt. 

"We could." Ranma shrugged. "But I don't know how to do that yet, and I don't think you'd want to do in an area you don't know anything about, right."

Harry grumbled and agreed. Cheli rejoined them, holding a blue canned drink with white labeling. "You'll never believe this, dad." She held the can up for him to examine. "Guess what this stuff is called?" She was grinning ear to ear as he read the label. 

"Po… ka… ri… sweat?" He made a face. "Sweat? Are you serious?"

Ranma laughed. "Oh man! If you think that's strange, I've got to show you this stuff called 'calpisu.'." 

"Cow piss?" Harry pointed at the can. "You mean this stuff's for real?"

Ranma grinned. "Yeap! It's a sports drink. When they invented it, the inventors had a shaky grasp of English. They meant to call it Pokari Sweet, but they didn't know how to spell the word right. It's good, though. Go ahead, give it a try." 

Cheli popped the top. "I hope it's as good as those octopus balls." She took a sip and contemplated. "Not bad. Kind of like grapefruit." She took another sip and offered it to her dad. "So, what's this cow piss stuff taste like?"

Ranma tried to describe it as she led them through the afternoon traffic to ticket machines. She quickly purchased three tickets and guided them to the turnstiles and gave them each a ticket. Once inside the platform area, she led them to the proper train platform, keeping up a stream of running commentary as best she could. 

The train arrived after a couple of minutes. They got on the train and surprisingly managed to find a seat, even with all the people struggling to get inside before the doors closed. Eventually the heat, the food, and the overwhelming nature of the visit got to both the Potters, as Harry found Cheli sleeping against his shoulder within minutes of sitting down. He joined her soon afterwards, not aware of having drifted off until Ranma shook them both awake, stating that the next station was their stop. 

Once off the train, the turnstile ate their ticket and ushered them out into the street, where pedestrians and bicyclists hurried past, many carrying small bags of groceries or packages. Ranma hailed a taxi and the three piled in. Harry didn't even try to pay attention to what was being said, instead content to stare out the window as they vehicle drove them through the area, coming to a stop some time later in front of a small three story building in a quieter neighborhood. 

Ranma paid the driver and they all got out. 

"This is a hotel?" 

Ranma shook her head. "No, this is a family house. We call them 'minshuku.' It's the equivalent of a pension in Europe. The accommodations and food tend to be better than hotels, but the facilities are communal. I hope you don't mind."

Harry shook his head. "Not at all." Cheli didn't say anything, content just to look around and take in the scenery.

Ranma led them inside, and instructed them to leave their shoes at the front door. She found some slippers for them in a cubby against the wall, picking out three pairs and placing them on first step. By the time Harry managed to get his shoes off and into the slippers, Ranma had moved inside and was engaged in conversation with the host. Ranma indicated they should follow, and soon they were led on a small tour of the building. 

The first floor was mainly a communal space with bamboo tatami mats, where they were informed meals where held three times a day. The bathing area was on the first floor as well, along with a small gym and a beer and sake vending machine. 

"You can even buy alcohol in vending machines here?"

"Cheli," Ranma laughed, "You can buy anything in a vending machine. I'll show you some of the stranger ones if we have time." 

Their room was located on the second floor. Cheli and Harry were surprised to learn that all three of them would be sleeping in the same room, which had little furniture besides a television and a small, low table. The bathroom was only big enough for one person, having a tiny vanity and toilet but no shower. The host showed them where the futons were stored, opening some sliding doors on one side of the room and began to set up the bedroom as they dropped off their backpacks. 

Harry pulled Ranma aside as Cheli used the bathroom. "You sure we should all share a room? You don't think it will be awkward?"

Ranma shrugged. "I don't see why it will be." She stood on her toes and gave him a brief kiss. "I'll behave if you can manage to keep your hands to yourself for a few days. Unless you want to traumatize your daughter further?" 

Harry shook his head. Cheli came out of the bathroom, mumbling about the toilet spurting water out of the top of the tank when she flushed. Ranma smiled and explained that it was clean water filling the tank, and rather than waste it, you were supposed to use it to wash your hands. 

They settled in, relaxing on the futons. Ranma walked around the room down and asked, "You guys want to take a nap until dinner time, or would you prefer to go out?" 

Both the Potters were exhausted and opted to stay in. Ranma opened one of the sliding doors that pulled out a couple of robes after checking the sizes. She tossed one each to Harry and Cheli, and pulled out one for herself. 

"Here, put these on. They're much more comfortable than lounging around in jeans." She demonstrated how to wear it and tie the cloth belt. Harry changed in the bathroom while the two girls used the sleeping space. Once changed, it didn't take long for the Harry and his daughter to fall asleep on top of their futons. 

Ranma watched the two of them sleep. As nice as it was to be back in Japan after so many years, now that the initial excitement had faded, she could feel the tension creeping up into her shoulders. She was worried; it was only a matter of time before her past caught up with her. What ever happened, she didn't want to involve these two in it if possible. 

--------

Dinner was an interesting affair for the Potters. They ate on the first floor, along with all the other guests at the minshuku. There were no chairs, and everyone sat on the ground. Ranma and the rest of Japanese patrons simple folded their legs underneath them and sat on their heels. Harry tried but immediately gave up, sitting Indian style instead. Cheli tried to mimic Ranma, but after five minutes her legs fell asleep and she copied her dad.

The staff gave each guest a lacquered tray with legs that held a small portion of each aspect of the meal. Ranma sat between Harry and Cheli. While Harry recognized the miso soup and rice, that was about the extent of what he knew, as the other stuff was completely strange. 

"What's this?" He pointed a small composed salad of something that looked a lot like dried worms.

"Burdock root." Ranma took a bite from her own tray. 

"Burdock what?" 

"It's the root of a type of plant. It's good. The orange stuff in there is carrot." 

"And this stuff?" Harry pointed to a small Styrofoam square on his tray. Cheli leaned over, taking note. 

Ranma looked at where Harry was pointing. "What? That? Oh. You should try it, but I doubt you'll like it." She paused. "Save it for last, at any rate." 

"Why?" The question came in stereo as both Potters asked at the same time. 

"It's natou." Ranma's nose twitched. "It's a very… acquired taste." She pulled the cover off the square, and showed it to the two English folk. "It's made of fermented soybeans." She pulled off a small yellow packet that was taped to the top of the lid and opened it with her teeth, squirting the contents on the yellow beans. "You mix up the spicy mustard like so," she demonstrated, "and then either pour it over your rice or eat it straight." 

"Smell?" She offered it to Cheli. The teen leaned close and took a whiff, only to recoil quickly in disgust. 

"Ewww! That smells vile." 

Ranma nodded. "And it tastes worse." She offered Harry a smell. He reacted in a very similar matter as his daughter. 

"You like that stuff?"

Ranma shook her head. "Not really. It's not my favorite, but it's a great source of protein, and it's fairly cheap. I had to eat a lot of it growing up." She put the container back on her tray and covered it with the top. "I avoid it now unless I have no other choice, though." 

Once a majority of the meal had been eaten, the guests turned their attention from the trays to those surrounding them, and conversations sprung up. Harry soon found himself conversing with a middle-aged couple to his left as Cheli and Ranma were talking with each other. His conversation was the pretty normal for meeting strangers on the road, with questions about where he was from, where he was going, and what did he think of Japan so far. 

Honestly, so far he was overwhelmed and stuffed to the gills. But as vacations go, he'd been on a lot worse. 

-----

"Bath time!" 

Harry blinked stupidly from where he and Cheli were resting on his futon, watching some insane Japanese game show where the contestants had to drink cold beer, eat cold noodles, and sit on a block of ice. The first one to pee lost. 

"Huh?"

Ranma reached down and pulled the remote out of his hands, shutting off the television. "Bath time. We're going to the public baths. Get up." 

"Public… baths?" Both Cheli and Harry looked at Ranma with wide eyes. 

"Yeap. Public baths." She pulled out another set of summer kimonos for the pair and put them in a bag, along with some toiletries and plastic wash buckets found in the closet. "You're dressed fine right now. Let's go." 

"Do we have to?"

"Yes." Packed, Ranma turned and started tapping her toes. "You can come willingly, or I can drag you there. I haven't had a proper bath in years, and I'm not about to waste this opportunity." 

"Yeah, but you don't have to bring us along."

"Trust me. You'll like it." 

There was a fair amount of grumbling as Ranma hustled the pair out the room and the hotel. The Potters felt very self-conscious wearing what felt like bathrobes out into public, but nobody gave them second looks for their clothing. They did stare at them as they passed, however. 

Cheli finally asked about it. "Why are they staring at us so much?"

"A couple of reasons. The first is because you guys are white. It's still fairly rare to see a couple of foreigners wandering around the suburbs, particularly in a yukata." Ranma hesitated and finally sighed. "The second reason is because of me."

"You?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty well known around here. I'm sure some of the people probably recognized me." She sped up just a touch. "Nothing I can do about it, though. Come on." 

She led them down a small street, and before too long they were standing in front of an unassuming building with open doors, the entrance obscured by a hanging cloth with a split down the middle. Steady trickles of people were flowing in and out, most attired in a simple cotton yukata like they were, and all carrying bathing supplies. 

Ranma led them inside and paid for the baths, then divvied up the bathing supplies between the girls and the boys, giving Harry his change of clothes as well. She quickly explained the proper procedure for taking a bath, and encouraged Harry to take his time, because she and Cheli were certainly going to take theirs. He could wait or go on without them; the choice was his.

With that, Ranma pulled Cheli into the women's patrician, leaving a slightly spooked Harry cradling his bathing supplies. He undressed in the changing room and stepped into the bathing area and stopped. First, Because of its size. It was easily as large as his apartment in London, all tiled, with rows upon rows of short tiled walls with small stools and wooden buckets sitting piled up at the end of each row. There were nearly a dozen shower heads and faucets sticking out of each side of the low walls, were dozens of men sat washing and scrubbing themselves clean. 

Beyond that, there were a series of pools of various sizes, each with various amounts of steam rising from the surface. Again, a large number of men relaxed in the water, or sat at the edge of the pool, talking and laughing. It looked quite nice, but there was an important detail.

Everyone was completely nude. 

Harry tried to surreptitiously hide his nakedness with a small towel Ranma had given him for scrubbing. A couple of men looked in his direction and turned back to their business. He was just another stranger in this sea of flesh, even though he stood out due to his paleness and height.

It was unnerving to be naked around so many strangers, and even more unnerving to have complete strangers walk up to him naked walk up to him and strike up a conversation as he scrubbed. He rinsed and headed to the bath, climbing into the water with a hiss as the heat soaked into his skin. 

Okay. So, this was nice. Weird, but nice. 

But god…. What a sausage fest. Harry found a nice pattern on the ceiling and concentrated on it, letting his muscles relax as the hot water worked its magic. 

--------

On the women's side, Cheli was extremely self-conscious as soon as she stepped into the changing room. Ranma just stripped and tossed her clothing in a basket, then waited until the teen followed her example. The teen blushed - it was weird to be naked with her dad's girlfriend, not to mention thirty or forty complete strangers. Things didn't get any easier in the bathing area, either. 

"This is soooo embarrassing!" Cheli sat down and tried to cover her exposed bits with the small towel Ranma had given her.

"Why?" Ranma led the shy teen to a corner and grabbed a couple of bathing stools, placing them quietly on the ground next to a pair of adjacent shower hoses. She sat down next to her and began to fill a bucket with cold water. 

"I'm naked with my dad's girlfriend." Her face scrunched up. "Eww, eww, ewww! This is almost worse than you guys making out on the couch!"

Ranma laughed at that. "Well, if it's any consolation, you've seen as much as Harry has, so that should make you guys even, right?"

Cheli's hands flew to her lips, causing her to drop her towel. She quickly flushed and bent down, snatching it up off the floor and trying, unsuccessfully, to cover her self. 

"Will you stop that?"

Ranma laughed again. "Take a seat." 

"Everybody's staring!" 

"Nobody's looking, Cheli. Don't worry." Ranma smirked. "Besides, if they were going to stare, they'd stare at me." Without her clothes, Ranma's scars were a lot more apparent as the lighter colored tissue stood out prominently against her skin.

Drawing the younger woman's attention to her seemed to work. Cheli momentarily forgot her self-consciousness and began to examine the various scars on Ranma's body. Every inch of Ranma's body had some sort of reminder of previous injuries. Most of them were faded, but a few, like the scar near her kidneys and the one from the dragon, stood out vividly against her skin. She whistled softly. 

Cheli reached forward and traced the scar on Ranma's side. "Your own mother really tried to do this to you?" 

Ranma nodded. "Yeah." The older woman patted the stool next to her. "Sit." 

Cheli looked at the stool dubiously but did as asked. Ranma used her foot and pushed a wooden bucket in her direction, indicating she should start filling it with water. Ranma's was already full, so she turned off the taps and upended it over her head, splashing Cheli with cold water in the process.

"Gaah!" She shot up from her stool with a screech. This time, the bathers in the area did turn and stare at her, wondering what had caused the outburst. Flaming bright red, the teen sat down just as quickly. Cheli reached for the hot water, and after adjusting the flow of cold water to regulate the temperature, began to fill her bucket. 

"You could have warned me you were going to do that." 

Ranma had already begun lathering up with a bar of soap and her towel. She gave the girl a smirk. "Yes, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun."

"I hate you, you know." Cheli pouted and poured her bucket of hot water over her head. "Pass the soap." 

Ranma handed over the bar and continued to lather. "Want me to scrub your back?" She hefted her sudsy towel. 

Cheli shrugged. "Sure." No conversation passed back and forth between them as Ranma vigorously scrubbed the teen's back, eliciting small grunts of approval as the process cleansed and relaxed her at the same time. 

"My turn." 

"Oh. Right." Cheli returned the favor, scrubbing as best she could, still uncomfortable with touching another woman naked. 

"Come on, but some backbone into it, Cheli. You scrub like a grandma." 

With a brief flare of her temper, Cheli lit into Ranma's back as best she was able, determined to remove as many layers of skin as she could. 

Ranma just cooed. "That's better." When Cheli finished, she slapped the wet towel across Ranma's back, and returned to her own stool to finish washing the rest of her body. Ranma unbraided her hair and carefully put the tie she used on a small shelf next to the faucet, and wet her hair down with another bucket of water. Cheli followed her lead. 

Thoroughly lathered, Ranma started up her shower nozzle and pulled the hose from the wall. "Want me to wash your hair for you?"

"Um… Sure." 

Adjusting the water so it was hot but not scalding, Ranma ran her fingers through the teen's hair, working out the soap and keeping knots from forming. 

"I've got it from here, thanks."

Ranma nodded and turned to rinse out her own hair. They didn't speak again until they were both completely rinsed and relaxing in the hot baths, sitting neck deep in water that Cheli felt was only a few degrees below boiling. 

"I didn't mean it, you know." She said. 

Ranma had leaned back in the water, letting her head rest against the edge of the bath, the towel to cover her eyes. "Mean what?" 

Cheli relaxed into the water as well. The heat just made it hard to stay angry. "I don't really hate you."

"I know." Ranma didn't even bother to move, or open her eyes.

"It's not fair." 

"What isn't?"

"I'm supposed to tease you and be mean to you and make you feel unwelcome, like you're the intruder in our family."

"Who says you haven't?" Ranma's tone of voice indicated she was amused. 

Cheli sighed. "Why do you have to be so damn… likable?" 

"I'm not trying to be likable. I'm trying to be me." 

"Yeah, well it would be easier on me if you tried to act all nice and sweet so you could try and win me over like some of my dad's past girlfriends. At least then I'd have a reason to hate you." 

Ranma was still too content to relax to bother moving. "Sorry, kiddo. Not my style." 

"I know." Cheli smiled. "You're the only one who's bothered to stand up to me, and not treat me like I'm some kind of unwelcome fungus." 

"Your dad had a lot of girlfriends since your mom died?"

Cheli shook her head. "Not really. I mean, a few, here and there, every couple of years. Nothing really serious, though. I think dad did it mostly to keep Tonks off his case. I think the longest one only lasted a month or two." Cheli smiled. "We didn't really get along well."

Ranma snorted. "I bet." 

"So dad's seen you naked?"

"Do you really want to know?" 

"I guess not." Cheli paused. "What did he think of the scars?"

"If you didn't want to know, why did you ask me that?" 

"I'm just… I don't know. I'm thinking of how I reacted the first time you showed me." 

Ranma pulled the towel off her eyes and rolled her head slightly so she could look at the teenager. "He's got a few scars of his own, you know."

Cheli laughed. "I'd forgotten that." But now that she had the older woman's attention, she was curious. "No, really. What did he think?"

Ranma plopped the towel back down on her eyes. "He didn't say anything."

"You mean he didn't notice?"

Ranma flushed a bit. "Ah… he noticed." She pointed at the dragon scar, which ran from her right shoulder and stopped just a couple of inches from her left nipple. "You can't exactly miss this one, unless you're blind." 

"Oh."

A companionable silence fell between them. 

"Why are you so curious?" 

Cheli shrugged, watching the ripples she created in the water run over to the other side of the bath and lap against the tiled walls. "I…" She paused. "I see the way my dad looks at you. He's never looked at anyone like he does you." 

"And how's that?"

"I don't know. I think he just sees you. The scars are just part of the package."

Ranma didn't say anything. 

"Most of all," Cheli sighed, "I hope one day someone will look at me like that."

Cheli jumped as she felt Ranma's hand squeeze her knee underwater. "You're young yet, Cheli. It will happen." Ranma paused. "And it will be when you least expect it." She stood up. "Come on. Let's get out. Your dad probably finished half and hour ago, and he's probably sitting out in the waiting area like a lost puppy." 

-------

The trio was walking back at a sedate pace as the evening cooled off, in no rush to get back to the hotel. A cry of, "Cool! An arcade!" startled the adults out of their own thoughts as Cheli ran past and into the building, peering around with wide eyes before running back out and sticking out her hand.

Harry looked at her blankly. "What?"

"¥5,000 will probably keep me occupied for a couple of hours here." Cheli kept her hand out, looking up at her dad with a smirk.

Harry's reply was cut short as Ranma elbowed him in the ribs and shoved a wad of bills into Cheli's hands. 

"You know the way back to the hotel, right?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah! One of you will be in the room right? I don't have a key, so I'll have to knock." 

Ranma gave her a thumbs up and nodded. "I should be there. Knock loudly in case I'm napping." 

"Got it!" Cheli laughed and winked, but before running back into the arcade she reminded them to banish any smells before she came back.

Harry blinked, unsure of what just happened. Ranma chuckled at his expression. "You've got a hell of a kid, Harry." She wrapped her hand in his. "So… we've got a couple of hours to ourselves. Feel like watching TV when we get back to the room?"

Comprehension dawned on Harry's face. He didn't even bother walking; he just ported back to the room with Ranma by his side. 

-------

It was hot and muggy the next day, and the walk up to the temple in the morning sun only made the temperature feel worse. Ranma didn't seem affected by the heat, but Harry and his daughter were used to much milder summer weather. By the time they reached the last landing, they were already sticky and uncomfortable. 

Ranma had chosen to wear a more formal but still simple kimono rather than her normal outfit. Catching onto her mood, Harry wore a button down shirt and slacks, along with a summer weight dress coat. Cheli's school outfit, minus the cloak, was deemed formal enough. 

Ranma stopped at the top of the stairs and shifted the bundle of flowers in her arms. Just beyond the stairs was the first shrine gate that marked the entrance to the temple, and a second one was visible through it pointing out where the grave markers started. 

"Hey," Harry gently placed hand on her shoulder, "are you okay?" 

Ranma collected herself with a shake. "Yeah… I will be." With that, she took a step into the temple grounds and headed for the second shrine gate, leading the other two to the correct marker. Ranma sighed, but wasn't surprised, to find two other people waiting there already.

"Harry? Cheli? Why don't you guys wait here for just a bit?"

"Why?" 

Ranma licked her lips. "Because, I don't know if this is going to be civil or not. I'd rather not get you involved if it gets ugly. Okay?" She looked over at Harry and saw him nod slightly and then shift his stance. She glanced down to see his wand resting lightly against his forearm, ready to drop into his palm.

"It shouldn't come to that, Harry." She smiled softly. "But thank you." 

He nodded. "We'll wait over here." Putting his arm around his daughter, he pulled her away from Ranma and into the shade of a tree with a clear line of site towards Ranma's destination. 

Ranma walked forward to meet the pair of women standing by Akane's grave. Neither had changed much in appearance since Ranma had seen them last. Nabiki still had the same pageboy style hair cut, but she was wearing an expensively tailored suit that showed off her considerable feminine beauty extremely well, without being overtly provocative. 

The eldest Tendo sister, Kasumi, looked even more the part of the typical Japanese housewife than she had when Ranma was living under the Tendo roof. She wasn't wearing an apron, but her modest dress and long ponytail looked just like Ranma remembered. Ranma noticed a wedding band on her finger. 

"I heard you were in town, Saotome." 

"That's hasn't been my name in quite a while, Nabiki." Ranma gave a formal bow to Kasumi after only a curt nod to the middle sister. "Is it Ono now, Kasumi?"

Kasumi nodded.

"My congratulations to you both and best wishes. I wish you much happiness in your lives together. Did you get my gift?" 

Kasumi nodded graciously. "We did. Thank you, Ranma. I regret I was unable to send you an invitation. I was… obliged to invite Genma and Nodoka to the wedding." 

"I understand." 

"What, no warm greeting for me, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki arched an eyebrow. 

Ranma failed to take the bait. "It is good to see you as well, Nabiki. However, Kasumi was the only one in all that madness who wanted nothing from me but my own happiness. I have too many memories of being manipulated by you to be entirely comfortable with this situation." 

For a second, Nabiki's normal smirk faded slightly. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. You suffered more than any of us, I think." 

Ranma nodded. "Thank you." 

The smirk returned. "What brings you back given that your… Nodoka and Genma are still around?"

Ranma hefted the flowers in her arms. "I wanted to pay my respects."

Nabiki frowned. "Why now? You've never come before." 

"I… was not exactly in a healthy state of mind after Akane died." 

"Are you now?" That came from Kasumi.

"I'm making progress."

"Again, why now, though?" Nabiki asked again.

Ranma sighed. "Isn't it enough that I love her, Nabiki? I can't change the past. I'm trying to move on." Again, she hefted the flowers. "This is part of that." 

"And those two?" Nabiki asked. "Are they part of it as well?" 

"Yes." Ranma hesitated. "He's… well, he's a lot of things, really."

"Oh?" Kasumi smiled. "What does that mean, Ranma-kun?"

"First, he's my student. And my teacher. And…" Ranma blushed a bit. "He's my boyfriend." 

Nabiki snorted. "Boyfriend? You? Funny." 

It happened so quickly that Ranma wasn't even aware of it until after the fact. She was angry. She found herself standing nose to nose with Nabiki, speaking in a quiet tone that conveyed every ounce of her annoyance with the Tendo sister. 

"Yes, he's my boyfriend. I've struggled for sixteen fucking years with the fact that I'm stuck as a woman, and now that I'm finally ready to accept it and make a life for myself, I'm not going to let some cold hearted bitch belittle the bit of happiness I've found. We clear on that, Tendo?" 

There was a long stretch of silence as Nabiki blinked and leaned away from the irate red-head in front of her. 

Kasumi's small exclamation of "oh my," broke the spell. Ranma stepped away from Nabiki, muttering apologies under her breath.

Nabiki looked uncomfortable as well. "I… sorry, Ranma." She laughed softly. "I seem to be saying that a lot today." 

"It's okay." Ranma bowed her head. "I should be apologizing as well." She lifted the flowers again. "Do you mind if I pay my respects?"

Kasumi shook her head. "I don't mind. What about you, Nabiki?"

The other woman shook her head. "No, go ahead." 

"Is it alright if I introduce my guests to Akane as well?"

Nabiki just jerked her head to the side. Kasumi smiled. "I think that would be wonderful, Ranma. Will you introduce us as well?"

"Yeah, I'd like too." She bent down to place the flowers in front of the grave marker, making a silent promise to come right back and talk properly. Ranma walked over to the tree and gave Harry a reassuring smile and took hold of his left hand in her right, pulling him, and by extension, his daughter, over to the waiting sisters.

"Kasumi, Nabiki." Ranma stepped to the side. "I'd like to introduce Harry Potter and his daughter Cheli." She swept her arm towards the pair. "Harry, Cheli, this is Kasumi Ono and her sister, Nabiki Tendo." 

"Tendo?" Harry asked.

Ranma nodded. "Akane's sisters." 

"Ah." Harry nodded in understanding. "A pleasure to meet you both. This is my daughter, Cheli." He gently guided the girl in front of him. 

The red-headed teen nodded. "Hi." Cheli knew she wasn't really a part of this conversation, so once her introduction was done, she slowly worked her way to the fringe of the circle of the exchange to remain unobtrusive. 

Harry took charge of the conversation, as none of the other women seemed inclined to speak. The atmosphere wasn't hostile, but it was certainly charged. "Ranma has told me a lot about both of you." 

Kasumi smiled brightly and bowed. Nabiki gave him a calculating glance, taking in his hand entwined around Ranma's before bowing as well. "Only good things, I hope." 

Harry smiled. "She's told me how much she misses both of you." He smiled at Kasumi. "Mostly, she told me about how wonderful you were to her Kasumi. I can tell just from meeting you she hadn't exaggerated in the slightest." 

"Mr. Potter!" Kasumi blushed lightly. "You are too kind."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Are you flirting with a married woman, Harry?"

"Not at all. She just radiates peace." 

"And me?" Nabiki asked.

Harry nodded slightly. "Ranma admires you greatly."

This caused Nabiki's eyebrow to twitch slightly. "Oh really? And why's that?"

Ranma answered for him. "Because you did everything to protect your family. Better than I did. I only got your sister killed." 

Whatever answer she'd been expecting, it wasn't that one. 

"Would you like to join us?" Ranma pointed with her free hand at Akane's marker. 

Nabiki shook her head. "No, I've already visited today. Kasumi?"

"Oh, no thank you. But maybe we can have tea together afterwards?" 

Ranma smiled. "Okay. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

The sisters nodded. 

Ranma pulled on Harry's hand. "Come on." Ranma walked up to the marker and knelt, carefully rearranging the flowers so that they stood up right and in the best sunlight. Next to her, Harry knelt as well, while Cheli remained standing and off to one side. 

"Can you believe I don't even know what her favorite type of flower is?"

"Does it matter?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yes. There are so many stupid little things like that I've always wanted to know. Knowing them wouldn't change anything, but maybe if I'd cared enough to find out then, she wouldn't be here now." 

Harry looked over at Ranma and noticed she was crying silently. "True. But then again, I wouldn't be here, either."

Ranma scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Maybe I'd still be a man."

"Were you ever happy as a man?"

Ranma's tears came faster as she shook her head. "I'm happier now than I ever was then. And I hate myself for it." 

"I don't think Akane would want that, Ranma."

"You have no way of knowing what Akane would want, Harry. Don't try and tell me." 

Harry sighed. "Actually… I do." 

Ranma stared at him, her eyes red from crying. 

Harry stood up. "I'll tell you over tea." 

-------

The five of them were seated at a low Japanese table inside the temple, cups of tea steaming in front of each person, but all eyes on Harry. 

There was no use putting it off. Harry pulled up a bit of magic and touched his finger against his watch. Ranma narrowed her eyes as she recognized magic, then grunted as the watch opened, showing a small velvet lined interior. There was just enough space small, black, rectangular stone resting inside. 

Harry plucked it out of the case and snapped the watch face closed. He leaned forward and placed the stone in the middle of the table and sat upright again.

"That's the stone you were looking for, isn't it?"

Harry nodded. 

"I didn't know you found it."

Harry shook his head. "Actually, Ranma, I didn't. You did. When you did that rising dragon blast thingy in the Forbidden Forest, the… creature put his in your hand before it left." 

"Creature?"

"The flying one."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh." 

Harry nodded.

"This is all very interesting and stuff, but what does this have to do with us?" Nabiki was clearly impatient. 

Ranma pointed at the stone on the table. "Harry said this thing might be able to cure my curse." 

All eyes went to the stone except Harry's. 

"Actually," Harry corrected, "I lied."

"What?" 

"Sorry Ranma." Harry smiled apologetically. "This stone has no power over curses. But it does have a very special power, but that power comes with a price."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "I think you guys are talking about magic. I'm not sure I want to be involved. Tell me what this thing is or I'm getting out of here. Messing with magic killed my sister, and I don't want to risk anything else happening to my family." 

Harry scratched his forehead. "Sorry. This stone's real name is the Resurrection Stone." 

Everyone's eyes widened at that. Cheli knew what the stone was, as did Ranma. The two sisters did not, so he explained it. "This stone has the power to call the dead back to the land of the living."

Kasumi and Nabiki gasped. "You mean…"

Harry grimaced. "This stone gives the wielder the power to see and communicate with the dead. You can call back people you know personally. But, the price…" Harry sighed. "It can't make someone live again. You simply pull their spirit back to you, and you hold that spirit in this plane, where they don't belong, against their will."

"So?" Harry shot Nabiki a glare.

"It's not something one should consider doing lightly, Ms. Tendo." He picked up the stone. "For example, if I called back Akane right now, do you think she'd be happy to be here? I doubt it. I'd be ripping her out of the spirit world, trapped here until I choose to release her. Would you want to be ripped out of heaven?"

Kasumi looked sick, and Nabiki recoiled as she realized what that would mean.

Ranma licked her lips nervously. "So why show it to us, if it's such a horrible thing?"

"I made a promise a long time ago that I wouldn't find the stone again." Harry sighed. "I broke that promise for you, Ranma. I wanted to give you an opportunity to say goodbye, but only if you agree that you will only use it this once, and then throw the stone as hard as you can in one direction so that it can never be found again." 

"You broke your promise… for me?" Ranma looked stricken. "Why?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why do you think, Ranma?"

"Why?" She asked again, her eyes both begging for and dreading the answer.

"I love you." Harry held her gaze. "I want you to be at peace with yourself. If this is the only way it can happen, then I want to offer you the chance." 

Cheli chuckled. "Go dad!" 

Harry gave his daughter a weak grin. "Would you like to talk to your mother, Cheli?"

Cheli's eyes got wide. "I don't know." She shook her head. "What would I say? I never knew her. What about you, dad? Do you want to see her again?" 

Harry pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He put his elbow on the table and stayed there, eyes closed, as he fought an internal battle with himself. Finally, he sat up again and replaced his glasses. 

"No." He shook his head. "As much as I would like to, I refuse to put her through anymore pain. I loved her while she was alive, and I still love her and miss her, but I also love her enough to let her go now. I'm happier knowing that she's free."

Harry stood up from the table. "I'm leaving the stone in your charge, Ranma. The choice to use it is yours, but I want you to promise me on your honor that you will relinquish the stone when you've made your choice. Will you do that?"

"A promise on my honor?" Ranma looked up at Harry.

He nodded. "On your honor. Will you do it?"

Ranma swallowed, then nodded. "Yes. On my honor." 

Harry relaxed. "I'm going back to the hotel, then. I'll see you there." He stood up. "Do you want to stay, Cheli?" 

The teen hesitated. The chance to see her mother, to talk to her, to ask her the questions she needed to know… At the expense of her mother's pain, her dad's pain, just to satisfy some curiosity? "No. I'll come too." 

Harry was surprised. "Really?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to put you or her through that just to ask a couple of silly questions." She stood up and walked around the table to give her dad a hug. "I've got you, and that's enough for now." 

Harry wrapped his daughter in a hug and kissed the top of her head. He choked out a strangled, "thank you." He collected himself by clearing his throat a few times. "If you want to use it, all you have to do is pick it up in your hand, and then turn it over three times. That will summon the spirit to you. Unfortunately, I don't know how to release the spirit, though. I died last time I used that." 

With a quick nod to the remaining women, he and Cheli made their way out of the temple.

Ranma, Nabiki, and Kasumi sat staring at the stone for a long time, nobody moving, tea completely forgotten. The three women were finally able to tear their eyes away from the stone long after their tea turned cold. With a shiver, Kasumi sat up straight.

"I will not use it." She stood and nodded her head sister. "Nabiki." Coming around the table, she knelt and gave Ranma a hug. "I've missed you, Ranma. Will you try to visit more frequently?"

"Yes, I'll try." 

Kasumi smiled. "Good. Tofu would love to see you again. You're always welcome at our home." 

"Thank you, Kasumi. That means… a lot to me." 

Kasumi gave her another tender smile and kissed Ranma on the forehead. "Take care, little sister. I love you." Kasumi stood from her hug. "He's a good man, Ranma."

Ranma swallowed, not trusting herself to speak as she watched Kasumi exit the temple. 

Nabiki and Ranma sat in silence for a long time, both contemplating the stone. 

"Do you love him?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma looked up at Nabiki. 

She shrugged. 

"Is that a 'no,' an 'I don't know,' or something else?"

Ranma cleared her throat. "That's an 'I don't want to answer.'"

"Why?" Nabiki place her elbows on the table, studying Ranma's face, rather than the stone. "Are you still afraid of me?"

Again, Ranma shrugged. "A little." 

Nabiki sighed. "I'll apologize again, if I have to."

"Don't." Ranma shook her head. "Please." 

"Okay." Nabiki stood as well, staring at the stone on the table. Finally, she let out a long sigh, feeling like she was letting go of a suitcase full of cash. "I'm not going to use it, either. There's nothing Akane could tell me that I don't already know." 

She too, came around the table and knelt next to Ranma. "Kasumi called you her little sister."

Ranma nodded. 

"Just so you know, Ranma… I feel the same way. I've missed you, too." Nabiki looked away, reaching up with her right hand to wipe her eyes. "Will you keep in touch this time?"

Ranma nodded, not even bothering to wipe at her face as the first tears made their way down her face. 

Nabiki gave the red-head a hug. "I love you, Ranma. I don't want to lose anymore family if I have to." 

Ranma returned the hug, barely able to hold on as her body was wracked by sobs. Nabiki joined her a moment later. Ranma lost track of time, but the sun had started towards the horizon by the time she was finally under control. Nabiki looked just as bad as she did, but the older girl managed to laugh and pull a handkerchief out of her suit pocket and wipe off the red-head's face.

"God, you're a mess."

Ranma laughed, causing a small river of snot to run out of her nose. "Have you looked in a mirror lately, Tendo?"

This caused both of them to start laughing until they cried once more, holding on to each other. This session didn't last as long, and soon enough they were both back under control, but exhausted. 

Nabiki pulled out a business card. "Call me collect, okay?"

Ranma nodded. 

Nabiki copied Kasumi's actions earlier, kissing Ranma on the forehead. "Kasumi's right about him, Ranma. He's a good man." 

"I know." 

"Better than you were, even." 

"Now you're pushing it." 

The trademark Nabiki smirk was back. "I've got to go, okay? Take care, little sister." 

Ranma nodded. "Okay, big sister." 

Nabiki smiled. A genuine smile. "Do you need help with your name?"

"What do you mean?"

"We could offer you a place on the Tendo family register, if you wanted. Daddy would love to have you." 

"Mr. Tendo's not siding with my… Genma on this?"

Nabiki shook her head. "He hasn't talked to him since the day they attacked you."

"Huh. I didn't know that." 

"How could you if you never came back?"

Ranma sighed. "I didn't want to be reminded of everything here."

"I know." Nabiki smiled again. "I understand. Just don't wait so long next time, okay?"

"Okay." 

"And call me soon so we can talk about adopting you." 

Ranma looked at the business card in her hand, her eyes to bleary from crying to make out the characters. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Nabiki waved. "Till then." 

"Later." Ranma didn't watch her leave. 

Finally, it was just her, and the stone. She picked it up and examined it carefully. Such a small little thing, with the barest outline of a circle inscribed on one side. Three turns in her hand. That's all it would take. Three little turns and she could talk to Akane. She'd be able to tell her everything she'd wanted to know, hear everything she needed to hear.

She stood up from the table and walked back out to the grave marker, standing in front of it as the sun started to sink below the horizon. 

Would Akane be angry?

Would she be happy?

Ranma looked down at the stone in her hand, thinking over everything that had happened today. The setting sun threw Akane's marker in to sharp relief as the last of the light reflected off the polished surface. 

Just three little turns. 

Ranma realized it was a question of love. 

------

Ranma opened the door to her hotel room and saw Harry napping on his futon while Cheli watched TV with the sound turned down. Cheli hopped off her own futon as Ranma came in, worry evident on her face. 

"You okay?" She whispered. "You look really tired."

Ranma smiled half-heartedly. "I am really tired." 

"Oh."

Ranma pulled the teenager into a hug. The girl, of course, protested, but didn't pull away. "Thanks, Cheli." 

"For what?" The girl mumbled into Ranma's shoulder. 

Ranma shrugged. "I just felt like saying it. Don't expect it to happen again anytime soon."

"Okay." The girl pulled away. "For what it's worth, you're welcome." 

Ranma smiled and shuffled over to Harry's futon. One of Nabiki's questions kept running through her head.

Did she love him?

She lay down beside him and put her head on his chest. He woke up at the sudden pressure, but Ranma used her free arm to push his head back onto the pillow before slinging it over his chest. 

She sighed. 

God, she was tired.

Did she love him?

She shifted a bit to get comfortable. 

"You aren't going to do the nasty while I'm in the room, are you?"

Ranma snorted. "I'm still a virgin, ya know." 

"Really? Lame." 

"Watch TV and shut up." 

"Aye Aye, Captain Bligh!" 

Ranma felt Harry's neck tense as he looked down at her. She grinned up at him and pushed herself up to an elbow so she could whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry. I intend to remedy that problem as soon as we're alone." She kissed his cheek and flopped back down to relax.

Yeah. She did. 

-----

The end.

Omake:

Cheli broke eye contact first, glancing around the room. "So… are you shagging my dad for his money or his fame?"

Harry had just enough time to stand up before Cheli came barreling around the corner and cowered behind him. Ranma stalked into the room, a faint blue glow rising from her body and her hair standing on end as if being blown by an invisible breeze. Harry knew that if Ranma intended to hurt Cheli, she wouldn't have given the girl such a visible warning. Even so, the sheer power emanating from the older red-head was enough to make Harry feel weak-kneed, even if it wasn't directed at him. 

"I take it you pissed her off?"

Cheli nodded vigorously and gulped.

Morbid curiosity made Harry ask, "What did you say?"

She told him. Harry blinked at his daughter a few times, trying to comprehend what she had just said. When it finally registered, he smoothly stepped away from his daughter. 

Cheli looked at her dad in horror. "Traitor!"

Harry shrugged. "I suggest you apologize before Ranma catches you." Cheli took off at a dead sprint. Ranma gave him a tight smile before stalking after the teenager. Harry heard Cheli's bedroom door slam shut and felt the tingle of several shielding charms being cast on the door. 

"Ranma?"

The red-head raised an eye-brow at Harry quizzically.

"Let me know if she doesn't apologize, okay?" 

Her grin wasn't pleasant, but then again, neither was Harry's. 

-----

"I'mgonnadie I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie…" Cheli frantically threw up as many shielding charms on her door as she could, and followed it with a locking charm and a charm to seal the door shut. She levitated a bookcase towards the door and transfigured it into a brick wall, completely sealing off the entrance. She didn't care if the Ministry caught her doing underage magic – they'd understand that it was a life or death situation. She climbed onto her bed and pointed her wand at the door, straining to hear any sounds from the other side of the wall. If she was going to go down, she would go down fighting!

-----

_Scrapped ending:_

_Author's notes: _

_The original idea for this story was inspired by a conversation with a friend of mine who's works in neurobiology/psychology. Her field of specialty is how brain structures affect behaviors. We got into a long involved dialogue about trans-gendered and cross gendered people, and people born with both male and female sex organs. The theory is currently that sexuality is determined in the brain well before birth, so a child with male and female sex organs might be biologically attracted to men. However, if the gender assignment surgery is done and the wrong gender is chosen, then you have some very confused children who grow up assigned a gender that is not what they are "biologically" assigned._

_My original intention for this story was for Ranma and Harry to meet, fall in love, and for Ranma to unlock the curse at the moment she decides she can live as a woman. Then, you've got two people who are in love, but in the wrong gender. I doubt that their relationship would survive, as Harry would not be attracted to Ranma's male form, but Ranma wouldn't want to give up his newly reclaimed masculinity. So, Ranma would be faced with a choice – give up his masculinity forever (and be unhappy and/or resentful of Harry), or to accept his masculinity, as is his natural inclination, but doom the relationship. _

_The point would be that even thought the relationship didn't work out, both would realize they were capable of love again, and thus pursue love again, independent of each other._

_Then I made a mistake._

_I made Jusenkyou alter the physical structure of the brain. Ranma's female while female, not just a male brain in a female body. Even though he's had sixteen years of male upbringing, with a female brain he'd be able to make the switch, as it were, and bat for the other team, not because it would be against his nature, but because his nature would be augmenting the process of accepting. _

_So it turned into this little love fest. I still intend to write the alternate (and original) ending I intended soon. The prologue will remain the same, regardless. Nothing in this story resolves itself, which I like. Nothing is certain, which I like. It resembles real life – you make choices, completely unaware of how they will turn out or their consequences, but you live with them because you have no other choice. _

_Even given that this is not how I envisioned ending this story, I'm still quite happy with the over all result. One reason I finished the story now is that my job is transferring me. It will be highly unlikely that I'll be able to post any more fiction for the next couple of years, so I wanted to resolve this piece at least. Second, I like the fact that this turned out the way it did – a character drama, not a lot of action, just character development and dialogue. But I'm also done with this piece. I don't want to work on it anymore. _

_So the questions remain. Did Ranma talk to Akane? Will she accept the Tendo name? What about her relationship with Harry? I'm willing to discuss these questions with people over PM's, but I won't spell it out in the fic. _

_This was the original little blurb that started the conversation with my friend about the biology of sexuality. I wrote it back in 2006, and it was sort of the guiding inspiration for the entire bit. _

What did she have now? She had problems. She had gender issues, problems with emotional attachments, and scars both physical and mental that wouldn't ever heal. 

But for the first time, she had hope, and a future. For the first time, she looked forward not just to tomorrow, but towards the rest of her life. She had peace and a potential friend Saffron. She knew that Akane didn't blame her. She had a crazy old bat that treated her with respect and dignity, and was grooming her to be a leader and solve the problems of those around her, rather than be the cause of them.

She looked at her right hand. The feather glowed softly in the night, casting a red glow onto her face. Ranma pulled her left hand out from under her hand and stared at the engagement ring on her finger. The diamonds, rubies, and sapphire in the band absorbed the light and glittered, mirroring the white, blue and red stars above. 

And she had love. Ranma Saotome, man amongst men, was going to be the bride of the century. Ranma would have a name again, and that name meant that she belonged. It certainly wasn't what she had started out to find, but then again… Like Harry said, if magic made sense it would be science. If you only believed in it hard enough, anything was possible. 

A muffled pop announced Harry's arrival. "Dinner's ready."

"Thanks." Ranma sat up and banished the feather to a subspace pocket. "I'll be down in a minute." 

"You alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah." Harry turned to apparate away. "Harry?"

"Hmm?" 

"I love you." 

He cocked an eyebrow. "What brought that on?"

"Nothing." She smiled. "See you down stairs in a minute." 

She looked back up at the stars when he left. 


End file.
